The Winnipeg Jets’ losing streak has now been extended to 10 games and the task of ending that slide won’t be made easy by Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visiting our city. Coming into the action, the Oilers are tied for the 12th best record in the NHL, as well as being tied for the 5th most goals scored (145) and 5th most goals against (145). The True Northers on the other hand have the 7th least goals scored (118) and are tied for the 14th least goals against (130).
Edmonton has gone 6-4-0 in their last 10 outings, which includes a 3-1 victory over Winnipeg on December 29th. The Oilers are dealing with a few injuries, with newly acquired goaltender Tristan Jarry, veteran forward Adam Henrique, and defenseman Jake Walman on Injured Reserve. The Jets sole injury is to defender Haydn Fleury, who sustained a broken nose, a back injury, & a possible concussion when he slid heavily into the boards against the Golden Knights.
Since they place Fleury on IR, that freed up a roster spot on the Jets and they opted to call up 22 yr old Danny Zhilkin. After a couple partial seasons with Manitoba where the Russian-born forward struggled to make an impact offensively, Zhilkin has upped his game this year playing on the low scoring Moose as a top six center. While 14 pts in 30 games doesn’t scream a fantastic campaign, it is only 6 pts back of team leader David Gustafsson’s 20. The centerman does possess NHL quality speed and can play a responsible 2-way style of hockey, so it will be interesting to see how he does in his NHL debut centering the Jets’ 4th line with Cole Koepke & Tanner Pearson on the wings.
Tonight’s game at the Canada Life Centre will kick off at 7 pm Central and here is how the two clubs’ year-to-date stats compare, via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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The above numbers pretty much speak for themselves….but that Edmonton 33.9% powerplay conversion rate should hopefully remind Winnipeg to stay out of the box tonight. The Jets should get some scoring chances tonight versus one of the league’s worse defensive clubs, but the Oilers have the firepower to create a bunch of offense against the home team….so the goalies should likely prepare to face a good amount of rubber this evening.
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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EDMONTON OILERS LINE UP
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A couple veterans scratched by coach Scott Arniel for tonight’s contest, with Vladislav Namestnikov & Gustav Nyquist expected to be spectating from the press box tonight. Not sure there is enough room up there for all the players deserving of a scratch, but I will be glad to see Vladdy up there based on his recent performances.
The Manitoba Moose will also be in action tonight, as they will try to fend off the AHL’s Central Divisions 4th place team when they visit the Milwaukee Admirals. The loss of Zhilkin will force them to change up their top six and it will be interesting to see if Brayden Yager or Brad Lambert will take his spot higher up in the lineup. Some other news for the minor league affiliate, as they have sent prospect Jacob Julien down to the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals for his first taste of professional hockey. The young forward sustained an injury in pre-season and after missing half the season, he is about to take his first steps towards what he hopes will eventually become a bottom six role in the NHL.
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Edmonton Oilers 4 Winnipeg Jets 3
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): EDM 3.48 WPG 1.77
Expected Goals (5on5): EDM 2.99 WPG 1.60
The top 2 forward lines had around 12 minutes of ice time at 5 on 5, while the Toews unit saw around 10 minutes. Zhilkin got only 6 minutes in his NHL debut with the 4th line and one other shift to almost reach the 7 minute mark (though they won the goal battle 1-0). The Scheifele line pocketed a pair of goals, but also allowed the same number to get by Hellebuyck.
The top 3 defensive pairings all saw over 10 minutes of even strength play, while the bottom two duos only averaged 5 minutes. The supposed shutdown pairing of Samberg–DeMelo ended up getting beat up, allowing 2 goals by Edmonton. Morrissey–Pionk were on the ice for a couple goals by Winnipeg, but also allowed 1 against. The towering pairing of Stanley–Schenn lost the xG battle, but ended up with a +1 in the goals for/against department.
Another negative GSAE rating for Hellebuyck….if he doesn’t watch it, he’s going to let Winnipeg’s woes cost him the starting job for the US at the Olympics.
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
Don’t have a ton to say after yet another Winnipeg Jets’ collapse to extend their losing streak to 11 games. Why not start the second half of the season off with a loss after the team’s performance in the first part?
The True Northers stormed out of the gate and looked like the better club for 20 minutes. After that, it was all Edmonton as our club failed to get 10 shots on their goaltender in the final 40 minutes of action. So it was hardly surprising when the Oilers ultimately overcome their 2 goal deficit to tie that game. Then, of course Winnipeg had to finish the job by taking a penalty right away to give up the game winner to one of the best powerplays the NHL has ever seen.
No rest for the club (or me)…..as they will be right back at it on Friday night versus the Los Angeles Kings.
