Introduction:
The stormy weather portion of the Winnipeg Jets road trip started against the Lightning in Tampa Bay, and moves into Carolina to face the Hurricanes. The Jets lost 5 -2 to the Lightning Tuesday evening. The Lightning clearly demonstrated why they are the odds on Stanley Cup favourite. The Jets played with heart, but, beating the most talented team in the NHL without Dustin Byfuglien, Josh Morrissey and Adam Lowry was just too much to ask. The newest Jets continue to show a little more each game including Par Lindholm who may not have huge upside, but looks like a solid fourth line role player.
Carolina is in a fight for the wildcard playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and is coming off of an overtime loss to the Boston Bruins where they rocked the old Hartford Whalers jerseys. The Hurricanes have been hot lately with a record of 21-6-1 since December 31. Don Cherry may not like their post game celebrations, but there is no question that the team is playing well. They are led by Finnish stars Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, and feature a young, talented defense core. Wins are hard to come by this time of year as teams battle for playoff position. The Jets need this win as things do not get easier for them with their next game in Washington.
Frenemy Blog:
| Winnipeg Jets | Carolina Hurricanes |
|---|---|
| Record: 39 23 4 | Record: 36 23 7 |
| Last Ten Games: 4 5 1 | Last Ten Games: 8 1 1 |
| Who Is Hot: Blake Wheeler continues to score goals in addition to everything else he does nightly. | Who Is Hot: Jordan Staal is back from a long injury absence and has six points in the last five games. |
| Who is Not: Nikolaj Ehlers has way too much talent to only have one assist in the last five games. | Who Is Not: Power play percentage. Ranked 22nd in the NHL. |
| Keep an Eye On: Dmitri Kulikov. Full marks to him for taking and giving in the physicality and grit department lately for the Jets. | Keep an Eye On: Nino Neiderreiter has 19 points in 20 games since being traded. That has to be hard for Wild fans to watch. |
