Time: 7:00 pm CST
Channel: TSN3
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
It’s early January and the Winnipeg Jets are sitting atop of the NHL….things couldn’t be going much better for the Manitoban NHL franchise. After sweeping a 3 game road trip through the south-western United States, the Jets are back in the cozy confines of the Canada Life Centre to start a 4 game home stand where they have a 13-5-2 record.
The Columbus Blue Jackets will be the first NHL team to visit Winnipeg, currently sitting in the basement of the Metropolitan Division with a 13-19-9 record. Tonight’s clash would have marked the return of Patrick Laine, but the Finnish winger is on injured reserve for a while after putting up 9 pts in 18 games. The other player involved in the trade that sent Laine to Columbus is also having a difficult season. Jack Roslovic has missed quite a bit of time due to a fractured ankle, playing in 19 games while picking up 9 pts. Former Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent will be returning to a familiar setting, this time being the key guy behind the Blue Jackets’ bench.
As a team, the Jackets are 2-3 in their past 5 games, but they have gone to overtime or shootout in four of those matches (including quality opponents like MIN, PHI, BOS, TOR, & BUF). So Winnipeg shouldn’t take the team lightly, despite their 28th overall ranking in the NHL. Columbus is being led in scoring by Johnny Gaudreau & Zach Werenski (25 pts), with impressive young prospects Adam Fantilli (24 pts) and Kirill Marchenko (22 pts) chipping in.
The first place Winnipeg Jets have 5 players with more points than the Jacket’s best, Mark Scheifele (40 pts), Nikolaj Ehlers (31 pts), Josh Morrissey (30 pts), the injured Kyle Connor (28 pts), and Cole Perfetti (26 pts). Since the Arizona Coyotes didn’t send a lot of rubber towards Connor Hellebuyck in the last game, I expect the Jets’ starter to be between the pipes when the puck drops.
Winnipeg has a full practice scheduled for tomorrow, so we probably won’t see the return of Rasmus Kupari on Tuesday but it seems he is very close. Ville Heinola & David Gustafsson will probably be a bit longer to make their returns, with sniper Kyle Connor still 2 to 3 weeks away.
Can the Jets extend their winning streak to 7 games and keep up their dominance of the Eastern Conference (10-0-3)?? Will Ehlers continue to entertain us with his special abilities? Can Vilardi re-find his scoring touch? Tune in tonight to find out.
Looking for an easy way to support Arctic Ice Hockey Use our Affiliate Link when shopping hockey merch this holiday season!
