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Preview: Carolina Hurricanes @ Winnipeg Jets

Mar 2, 2024; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele (55) celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period at PNC Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

When you are on top, you have to expect challengers to come and try to knock you off your pedestal. That is something the NHL’s league leading Winnipeg Jets have to keep in mind as they prepare for their next contest.

After knocking off the closest competition for the Presidents’ Trophy (Washington Capitals) on Saturday, our squad has another tough match up on their hands with the Carolina Hurricanes coming to town. The #1 Jets against the #5 Hurricanes. Yet another battle of the NHL’s elite franchises for our viewing entertainment….other fans have to wait until the 4 Nations Face-Off kicks off to watch incredible hockey, but us Jets & Canes supporters will get an early start on the rest of the hockey world. Lucky us.

Winnipeg (37-14-3) is coming into Tuesday night’s clash riding a 6 game winning streak, which is their 3rd longest hot streak of the campaign. The Jets will be without two of their better defensive forwards since captain Adam Lowry & Morgan Barron are still recovering from injuries, giving depth players like David Gustafsson & rookie Parker Ford another shot to impress the coaching staff.

Carolina (32-17-4) recently shocked the hockey world when they traded a couple young players (including team leading point getter Martin Necas) for a real potential game-changer in power forward Mikko Rantanen. While Moose has only picked up 2 pts in 4 games so far, I’m sure his impact will increase as the level of comfort in his new surroundings does. The Canes are coming in off a 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, but prior to that the team was playing very well (6-0-1 run). The Hurricanes are also missing a couple forwards to injury, with Jesper Fast & Tyson Jost unavailable.

Here is how PuckPedia is predicting the coaching staff’s to line up the players when the puck drops at 7 pm at the Canada Life Centre in Manitoba.

The Winnipeg Jets have the 2nd highest goal scorer in the NHL in Mark Scheifele (31 G/61 Pts) and the 4th highest one in Kyle Connor (30 G/67 Pts), so the team’s top line has been playing well this season. Other key contributors include Gabriel Vilardi (49 pts), Nikolaj Ehlers (47 pts in 45 gms), and defenseman Josh Morrissey (46 pts).

The Carolina Hurricanes traded their highest scorer to the Colorado Avalanche (Necas w/ 55 pts), but ended up getting an even more prolific point producer in return (Rantanen has 66 pts in 53 gms). Other offensive stars of the Canes are Sebastian Aho (51 pts), Winnipeg-born Seth Jarvis (40 pts in 46 gms), & Andrei Svechnikov (37 pts).

Looking at this season’s stats from the season in our Match Up graphic, the numbers clearly show two very good hockey teams. The Hurricanes’ shot suppression is very impressive (24.9 per gm against), as is their penalty killing percentage. Of course the Jets’ powerplay has been elite all season (33.3%) and with Vezina hopeful Connor Hellebuyck in between the pipes, our squad can be difficult to score against.

Check out the numbers yourself and then follow that up with ESPN’s look at the potential starting goaltenders. Pre-game skates should be occurring soon, so we should know for sure shortly.

Alright, now that you have had a chance to digest the level of competition, how do you think tonight’s game will play out? Will Winnipeg’s top six lead the way or will it be those grinding shifts by the bottom of the lineup that lead to goals against a tough Carolina team?

Based on the numbers, I think the Jets will have a difficult time getting into the high danger areas against a great defensive squad like the Hurricanes. Tonight’s opposition also is great at throwing rubber at the goaltenders they face, so we should also expect who ever is in net tonight to have a busier than normal workload.

Will Winnipeg be able to match their 2nd longest winning streak of the season and gather 7 straight wins? Lets hear your thoughts in the Comment section……..have a great day. 🙂

Go Winnipeg!!!!

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