Another very early game on Sunday has led to an abbreviated preview yet again…..
WPG Jets @ NY Rangers
Start Time: 11 am Central – Madison Square Garden
Winnipeg (28-29-12) is in 27th place in the NHL with 68 points on the season, scoring 196 Goals For (tied for 24th) and allowing 217 Goals Against (tied for 19th). Mark Scheifele leads the Jets with 31 goals, 52 assists, and 83 points. Kyle Connor is tied for the goal scoring lead as well, while Gabriel Vilardi is 5 back with 26 goals.
New York (28-33-8) has the 29th best record in the league with 64 points, scoring 196 Goals For (tied for 24th) and allowing 221 Goals Against (tied for 22nd). Mika Zibanejad leads the Rangers with 29 goals, 37 assists, and 66 points this year.
Coming into Sunday’s action the Jets & Rangers are separated by just 4 points in the standings with an equal 13 contests left to play. Both clubs will be entering on 3 game losing streaks, though Winnipeg has picked up a couple “loser” points in that span while New York didn’t earn squat.
Here is how the two clubs’ year-to-date stats compare when you look at the head-to-head data, via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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The two franchises stats have been fairly similar this year, allowing a like amount of Goals For & Against. The one difference between the clubs does appear to be the Rangers’ success on the powerplay, having the 5th most efficient man-advantage in the NHL (24%).
Here are the line up projections for both clubs via PuckPedia based on the most recent games:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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NEW YORK RANGERS LINE UP
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Since neither New York’s or Winnipeg’s coaching staffs have provided any line up updates by 7 am when I am writing this, I wouldn’t put too much stock into the projected lineups above. The Jets won’t probably make too many changes, other than back up goalie Eric Comrie getting the start in the second half of the back-to-back situation. Possibly Haydn Fleury comes out for one of Ville Heinola or Jacob Bryson? Then there is the fact that Dylan Samberg took a puck to the face late in yesterday’s game…will he be ready to go by 11 am today?
The True Northers can’t move up or down in the standings regardless of today’s outcome, though the St. Louis Blues win over the Vancouver Canucks last night have pulled the division rivals within 1 point of the Winnipeg Jets. The Blues don’t play again until Tuesday, so a loss by our club this afternoon would give them a shot at overtaking the Jets. Neither of the squads Winnipeg is chasing (SJ/TOR) play today, so we could pull into a tie with the Sharks with a win over the Rangers (San Jose would have 2 games in hand).
Okay…stomach is growling, so time to make some bacon, hashbrowns, & eggs. Have a great day!!!
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Winnipeg Jets 3 New York Rangers 2 (SO)
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): WPG 3.20 NYR 2.91
Expected Goals (5on5): WPG 2.06 NYR 1.17
Winnipeg’s top 6 forwards won the xG battle, while the bottom 6 lost. In terms of actual goals against, the Jets’ Lowry line was on the ice for both of the even strength goals scored today (one by WPG, one by NY). The Barron line allowed the 2nd least scoring chances for the Rangers, but struggled to create any offense of their own today.
All 3 of the True North defensive pairs were above 50% xG’s during 5 on 5 play, with the Morrissey–Pionk duo being on for a Winnipeg goal and the Samberg–Salomonsson pair getting scored against.
Another strong performance for Comrie, who has now piled up 6 straight wins and appears to be playing much better than Hellebuyck as of late.
The Winnipeg Jets’ shootout victory moves them up to 70 points on the season, tying them with the San Jose Sharks and making them closer to passing a bunch more franchises in the standings. The Nashville Predators remain hot though, as they beat the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime and kept Winnipeg’s distance from the West’s final wildcard spot at 5.
The True Northers will be heading home for a match versus the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday before facing a string of Central Division rivals (COL, @ COL, @ CHI, & @ DAL). See you all back here then.
