The Winnipeg Jets have gone 3-1-1 in their past 5 contests and have seemingly found a way to play competitive hockey without their best defensive defenseman, Dylan Samberg, and an important top six forward, Nikolaj Ehlers. Their last outing against the Vegas Golden Knights was the most lop-sided game of that grouping, where the opponents controlled the flow of puck possession and the Jets had troubles creating opportunities of their own. That being said, Winnipeg did play fairly well defensively against the Knights, mainly keeping them to the perimeter and allowing perennial Vezina candidate Connor Hellebuyck to do his thing when Vegas did get quality looks. Unfortunately, a highly questionable penalty awarded the visitors a 2-man advantage, giving them a chance to tie things up before claiming an overtime victory.
Rookie Nikita Chibrikov continued to make an impact for the Jets, becoming the first player in franchise history to score a goal in each of his first 3 NHL games. His addition to the 2nd line has helped it thrive for the first time since Ehlers was injured, allowing Winnipeg to get the better of the expected goals battle in the past two games when they were on the ice.
That brings me to another topic….Cole Perfetti. I continuously see fans disparaging the play of the 22 yr old forward, even going as far as to suggest GM Kevin Cheveldayoff should trade the young winger. That led me to do a dive into Cole’s stats to try and discover what those people were seeing that I was not. Perfetti is currently on pace for just over 50 points on the year, which would slightly surpass his pace from his previous 2 seasons. He is also one of the best Jets’ forwards in many categories like shot blocks per game, Corsi (shot attempts), Fenwick (unblock shots attempts), on-ice goal percentage, & on-ice goal differential. Admittedly, there are negatives in the numbers too. Perfetti is not great at defensive zone exits and for the most part ends up just chipping the puck out of his end (i.e. uncontrolled zone exit), but that is a common theme for Winnipeg wingers. Cole’s shooting percentage is 2.5% lower than last year and only David Gustafsson & Morgan Barron have a worse shooting talent above average rating. That is something that should be expected to improve based on Perfetti’s historical numbers. The biggest drawback that I could see in the stats is how Cole’s impact is much less when playing at 5 on 5 this year. Check out MoneyPuck’s graphic below to see how the young winger has done in key stat categories in his short career (1st is all situations & 2nd is at 5 on 5):


Well, while Cole will always be considered under-sized and there are definitely areas for Perfetti to work on in the future (getting into the high danger areas at even strength), I don’t see any reason to consider giving up on a young talented offensive player at this point in his career. Especially since he is already producing like a low-level 2nd liner and hasn’t come close to reaching his peak. Anyways….that is the end of that rant, lets get onto looking at the upcoming game.
The Winnipeg Jets (21-9-1) will be hosting the Montreal Canadiens (11-15-3) to end their 4 game home stand, prompting a visit from former Jet Patrik Laine (4 pts in 5 gms).
The Habs have won 3 of their last 5 contests and seem to pick up a “W” when they are able to limit the opposition to 2 goals or less. Les Canadiens could be in a foul mood for tonight’s clash, as they are coming off a 9-2 beat down by the lowly Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. Montreal is fairly healthy, with defender David Savard listed as day-to-day and the long-time injured goalie Carey Price on the shelf.
Here is how PuckPedia is predicting the coaches will line up their players when the puck drops at 6 pm Central:


The Montreal Canadiens’ two biggest stars this season are clearly forwards Nick Suzuki (30 pts in 29 gms) and Cole Caufield (26 in 29), but they also have four other players with at least 15 points. One of those players is a guy who makes Ville Heinola look like a giant, 5’6′ 162 lb defender Lane Hutson (19 pts in 29 gms/-14). Their starting goalie Sam Montembeault has been having a decent year (.901 save %), which was good enough for him to grab a spot with Canada for the upcoming 4 Nations tourney.
The Winnipeg Jets have six skaters with more than 20 points in Kyle Connor (36 pts), Mark Scheifele (34), Josh Morrissey (28), Nikolaj Ehlers (25), Neal Pionk (24), & Gabriel Vilardi (22), and that doesn’t include the six players with points in the 10-19 range. All signs point to another Connor Hellebuyck start (.926 save %), so the Habs should have their work cut out for them.
Based on the numbers below in the Match Up section of the preview, the Winnipeg Jets should have a huge advantage in goals for/against and shots for/against….though both franchises have capable special teams.


Well, that is about all the time I have for this article…..so I will leave it to the Arctic Ice Members to further discuss the upcoming match between the Jets & Canadiens. Lets hear in the comment section whether it will be Winnipeg or Montreal that walks away happy after the Hockey Night in Canada clash.
If you want to hear what Hab fans’ are talking about first…check out the Game Preview from Eyes On The Prize:
The BOJA Boost hasn’t been as impactful lately, but I am hoping that my Perfetti rant & the Preview article main photo will be enough to get the youngster back in the goal scoring column tonight.
Enjoy the return of the decent weather (-6 to 0 Celsius) in the Peg by getting outside this weekend. Have a great day!
Go Winnipeg!!!!