Time: 6:30 pm CST
Channel: SportsNet
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
The Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg will be hosting a contest between Central Division rivals on Wednesday evening. The hometown Jets will be facing off against the ultra-hot Nashville Predators as both franchises try to get ready for the post-season.
If we take a look at the standings, we’ll see that the Predators currently have a 7 point lead on the nearest challenger (Wild) for the final wildcard position, while Winnipeg is in a tight fight for the top spot in the division with the Stars & Avalanche.
Briefly looking at the two squads remaining schedules, Nashville has 16 contests left but only 7 of those against teams currently in a playoff spot (including 2 vs WPG). Winnipeg has a tougher path to the end of the regular season, with 18 games to play and 10 of them against franchises likely heading to the post-season.
Rick Bowness hasn’t been forthcoming with information about tonight’s lineup so far, but it seems likely that the Jets will be without Gabriel Vilardi for at least one more contest. The head coach has also been mum on a potential starter (Connor Hellebuyck – 2.30 GAA/.922% & Laurent Brossoit – 2.11 GAA/.924%) or how the forward lines will be deployed. The morning skate at 10:30 am may provide some clues, but I will be in a meeting until noon so won’t be able to provide any updates till then.
Was browsing Winnipeg’s player stats and besides noting the Jets’ leaders (Mark Scheifele – 57 pts, Josh Morrissey – 52 pts, Kyle Connor – 45 pts, & Nikolaj Ehlers – 45 pts), I did notice that there are three players closing in on the 20 goal mark (Scheifele & Ehlers with 19 and Nino Niederreiter with 18). Maybe one or all of them can hit that plateau tonight?
The Nashville Predators have relied on four main players to do their scoring: Filip Forsberg (68 pts), Roman Josi (63 pts), Gustav Nyquist (56 pts), and Ryan O’Reilly (56 pts). Preds starting goaltender Juuse Saros wasn’t on the top of his game to start the year, but has gradually returned to form (2.85 GAA/.907%). Back up tender Kevin Lankinen (3.09 GAA/.897%) hasn’t been a consistent option for coach Andrew Brunette, so Winnipeg is likely to see Saros in between the pipes.
The Winnipeg Jets have gone 22-8-2 in Manitoba this season, while the Nashville Predators have a respectable 19-10-3 on the road. Here is how the two squads match up head-to-head:
Can Winnipeg’s new players (Tyler Toffoli & Colin Miller) pick up their first points in a Jets’ uniform against the Preds? Will the team play more like they did against the Washington Capitals, or will they return to the low energy game Winnipeg had versus Vancouver? Can Cole Perfetti take advantage of what could be his last few games as a regular starter and find the scoresheet?
Tune it tonight to find out. Let me hear your thoughts about how the game will play out or which Winnipeg Jet(s) will have huge nights against their hated rivals.
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