Introduction:
The Winnipeg Jets got back in the win column against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night thanks in large part to a 41 save performance by Connor Hellebuyck. Helle has had a lot of justifiable criticism directed his way this year so, hopefully the San Jose game was a sign of things to come. Congratulations to Mason Appleton for scoring his first NHL goal against the Sharks. And no, I do not think it had anything to do with inserting fan-darling Nic Petan into the line up, who I still contend should be on the Moose.
The Vancouver Canucks are coming off of a 5 – 1 win Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues at home. The Canucks are hovering around the final playoff spot in the conference, meaning that they are starting to reach that crucial time in the season where they need to start playing some winning hockey or their playoff dreams could be over by February. The Canucks have a talented young roster featuring Bo Horvat, Jake Virtanen and super rookie Elias Pettersson who leads the team in scoring. The last time these two teams met the Jets won 6-3 at Rogers Arena.
Frenemy Blog:
| Winnipeg Jets | Vancouver Canucks |
|---|---|
| Record: 23 10 2 | Record: 17 17 4 |
| Last Ten Games: 8 2 | Last Ten Games: 6 3 1 |
| Who Is Hot: Mathieu Perreault had a career high five game scoring streak going into the Los Angeles Kings game. | Who Is Hot: Elias Pettersson leads all rookies with 36 points. We can pretty much hand him the Calder trophy now. |
| Who is Not: Bryan Little. Paging our second line center. Please report to the scoring summary tonight. | Who Is Not: Anders Nilsson is on an expiring deal and the Canucks are likely shopping him. However, his save percentage and goals against this season are not helping matters. |
| Keep an Eye On: Will Adam Lowry return to the line up? | Keep an Eye On: The Canucks young talent. They are fun to watch, but likely a season away from being a true threat. |
