Time: 9:00 PM CST
Channel: CBC/Sportsnet
Radio: CJOB
The Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers are playing tonight. Both teams are coming off of strong wins with the Oilers winning 7-2 against the Seattle Kraken last night and the Jets beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Thursday. The two teams will be looking to end 2022 with a bang by winning tonight.
The Jets looked better after a bad start against the Canucks and will want to build on that. Mark Scheifele has looked much better all season after looking like a shell of the player he once was last year. Him regaining the form he had when he was younger has been a huge boon for the Jets especially when combined with Pierre-Luc Dubois has been a great 1-2 punch down the middle for the Jets.
Another positive the Jets should want built on is Ville Heinola. Heinola has been all over the map with the Jets, but is starting to show the player he is in the AHL to the NHL coaches. He looked great against Vancouver and while he isn’t as sturdy as someone like Logan Stanley, if he can keep his current play up there is no reason why he should be scratched or sent down. Of course, me saying this is his kiss of death.
The Oilers are coming off of a dominant win and will be playing the second half of a back to back. They scored four goals in the first period against the Kraken and I kept on waiting for them to blow the lead because no matter what they do, they are still the Oilers. They were without Leon Draisaitl last night and it is not clear if he is playing tonight. However, it sounds like he wasn’t playing last night due to general hockey body issues and not a single injury in particular that made him miss the game. Maybe he will play tonight.
The Oilers other big offensive threat is Connor McDavid who had a five point night and is leading the league in scoring. No other words needed there. He’s good. We all know that.
Hopefully this game allows the Jets to ring in the New Year with style and say au revoir to 2022 in a celebratory fashion.
