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Preview: Chicago Blackhawks @ Winnipeg Jets

Feb 23, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Winnipeg Jets left wing Kyle Connor (81) scores a game winning goal against the Chicago Blackhawks during overtime at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Winnipeg Jets (1-0-0) opened up the 2024-25 campaign with a road victory over the Edmonton Oilers and now get to return to the friendly confines of the Canada Life Centre for their next 4 contests. That win had the Jets starting off the season in a tie for the Central Division lead, but both the St. Louis Blues & Utah Hockey Club added a second victory last night to pull ahead of Winnipeg once again.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck played a large role in the 6-0 win on Wednesday, but coach Scott Arniel will want to see a more well-rounded performance from his team on Friday versus the Chicago Blackhawks (0-1-0). Here is some shocking news, even if it is only after one game…..Mason Appleton is tied for 7th in NHL scoring with 3 points and can move up a spot if he ends up picking up one more on Friday evening. Winnipeg will try to build on a solid performance by their bottom sixers against the Oilers, but the staff will be hoping to see a lot more from the top 2 lines against the Hawks (especially at even strength).

Here is the Jets’ projected lineup for Wednesday’s contest, courtesy of PuckPedia….

Chicago added a lot of veterans over the summer to help surround emerging superstar Connor Bedard (2 helpers in opener) with more talent, but the experts still feel they will be in the running for a top 5 draft pick next year. That doesn’t mean the Blackhawks will be an easy out…..last season the Hawks had a 1-2-1 record versus Winnipeg, though all the matches were close (3-1 loss, 2-1 OT win, 2-1 loss, & 3-2 OT loss).

Unfortunately former Jets’ backup Laurent Brossoit is still on the shelf with an injury, so Chicago will have to rely on other new players like Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, & Ilya Mikheyev to help them get a win in Manitoba.

Here is what the Chicago Blackhawks’ lineup should look like tonight, courtesy of PuckPedia…

Looks like it will be the 31 yr old Hellebuyck in net for the Jets, while the Blackhawks will counter with 25 yr old Arvid Soderblom.

Although I never wager on hockey games, I did happen to see that the bookies have the Winnipeg Jets paying the lowest odds to win on October 11th. Here is the entire list of NHL games for today (via ESPN):

The puck drops at 7 pm CST tonight….so gather your favourite beverages & snack foods and get ready to watch some hockey tonight. Go Winnipeg Go!!

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