After the Winnipeg Jets have been blown out in their last 2 matches, they will get no rest in a back-to-back situation. The reality of missing the playoffs has fully sunk in for the players….and that fact is noticeable in their on ice efforts. At least we get to watch some of the young kids get a shot in the big league for a few games before the off-season kicks off for our franchise.
Busy day today…..so the preview is going to be brief today.
WPG Jets @ UTH Mammoth
Start Time: 8:00 pm Central – Delta Center
Winnipeg (35-33-12) is in 25th place in the NHL with 82 points on the season, scoring 227 Goals For (26th) and allowing 249 Goals Against (tied for 14th). Mark Scheifele leads the Jets with 66 assists and 101 points. Kyle Connor is the goal scoring leader with 38 goals, while Gabriel Vilardi just had his first 30 goal campaign with a marker versus Vegas.
Utah (42-32-6) is tied for the 18th best record in the league with 90 points, scoring 260 Goals For (15th) and allowing 232 Goals Against (4th). Clayton Keller is the Mammoth leading assist getter with 59 and is leading in points with 85, while Dylan Guenther has the most goals with 40.
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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No pre-game skate for Winnipeg today, so we won’t know the actual line up until much later. Though, I expect the only change will be Eric Comrie starting in goal.
Here are the current line up projections for both clubs via PuckPedia:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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UTAH MAMMOTH LINE UP
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Three former Winnipeg Jets are playoff bound with the Utah Mammoth and Nate Schmidt (21 pts in 80 gms), Brandon Tanev (3 pts in 53 gms), and Kevin Stenlund (18 pts in 78 gms).
Scoring should be difficult for the True Northers tonight as Utah is among the stingiest defenses in the NHL. With a loss by Winnipeg, the Florida Panthers will pass them in the standings, dropping the Jets to the 7th worst record in the league with only one game to play.
Is that how things will play out or will the players find their compete level before the regular season comes to an end.
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Utah Mammoth 5 Winnipeg Jets 3
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): UTH 4.02 WPG 3.41
Expected Goals (5on5): UTH 2.15 WPG 1.72
A mixed bag of results in the xG battles with 6 different lines getting more than 4 minutes of 5 on 5 ice time. Despite there being 8 combined goals in the contest, only 3 of those occurred at even strength. The reunited Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi combo got the only Jets’ goal, while Connor-Scheifele-Rosen & Perfetti-Lowry-Niederreiter were on for goals against.
Winnipeg had the top 5 pairings above receive at least 4 minutes of playing time at 5 on 5, while the final duo only had about 2 minutes. Probably shockingly to the coaching staff, the Bryson-Heinola pairing was the only one to wing the xG battle so maybe they should have been playing the Finn more often.
The top 2 duos above allowed a goal against during 5 on 5 play, while Heinola-DeMelo ended up being on for the Jets’ even strength goal.
While Comrie only had a .886 save % and finished with a negative GSAE rating, the back up tender played fairly well in my eyes. Probably would have wanted one goal back, but I thought he made a bunch of big saves on other chances.
With the loss, the Winnipeg Jets have temporarily moved into the 7th worst spot in the NHL standings. The True Northers could potentially move up to 8th depending on the outcomes of the Florida Panthers and our club’s final matches. The Cats will play this evening versus the Detroit Red Wings, so we should know what needs to occur for the Jets to stay in 7th when Game 82 against the San Jose Sharks rolls around.
