Time: 6:00 pm CST
Channel: Sportsnet
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
The Winnipeg Jets are in Massachusetts on Monday to prepare for a match against the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden. This game features two of the NHL’s best teams in 2023-24, with the Bruins holding a 1 point advantage over the Winnipeg Jets (with an extra game played). Those point totals are good enough for 2nd and 3rd in the league standings and a further dive into the teams’ statistics shows why Boston & Winnipeg are playing so well.
Starting off with the hometown Bruins, their 28-8-9 record has been boosted by going 6-1-3 in their past 10 games and winning their last four contests, while out-scoring opponents 21 to 9. Boston is currently 6th in goals scored and 5th in goals against, for a goal differential of +38 (3rd in NHL). A big reason for that is solid goaltending, with Linus Ullmark (2.80 GAA/.913%) and Jeremy Swayman (2.37 GAA/.923%) providing the coaching staff with a solid one-two punch. The B’s also play very well against the Western Conference, sporting an impressive 11-2-5 record. Getting defenseman Brandon Carlo back from injury last game will also make the Bruins a tougher opponent tonight.
The visiting Jets will bring their 30-10-4 record into the game and they have gone 9-1-0 in their past 10 contests (2 game winning streak). Winnipeg sits in 2nd place in the NHL in goal differential with a +45 rating, assisted by the 13th most goals for and the lowest number of goals against. The boys from the Peg can also field elite goaltenders as starter Connor Hellebuyck is likely playing the best he ever has….and that’s saying something for a tender who already has a Vezina sitting in his trophy case. Bucky’s eye-popping 2.15 GAA and elite .927 save percentage have put him as the leading candidate for another goaltending award, but Winnipeg is also getting strong performances from back up Laurent Brossoit (2.18 GAA/.923%). This Jets team hasn’t dropped many points when playing Eastern Conference franchises this season (13-1-3).
On December 22nd, Winnipeg handed Boston a 5 – 1 home loss in what was likely the Jets best game of the season, so I’m sure the Bruins will be looking for revenge in their barn. That loss was the only time the B’s have been beaten by 4 goals in 23-24, so it’s rather unlikely we’ll see a game like that again.
Also on the line is the Jets’ 34 game streak with 3 goals or less against and that will be tested by a Boston team that has scored at least 4 goals in 40% of their matches this season (18 out of 45) and are averaging 5 goals per game on their current winning streak.
So, the Winnipeg Jets will have their work cut out for them without Mark Scheifele in the lineup. I am a bit disappointed that today’s practice appears to show that no changes will be made to the forward units. Coming off consecutive less-than-stellar performances without #55, a little imagination might have sparked more inspired play from the team (trying Vilardi or Perfetti at center in the top six and returning Lowry to his normal 3rd line role), but we’ll have to hope the quality of tonight’s opponent will be enough to make our Jets play to the best of their abilities.
I’ll be here at 6 pm to chat about the game…hope you can join me. I miss the counter on the old site that kept track of how many people were viewing the page so you knew the number of potential commenters during a game.
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