Time: 6:00 pm CST
Channel: CityTV
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
The Winnipeg Jets will put their 8 game winning streak on the line on Saturday evening when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at the Canada Life Centre. However, during that stretch our Jets have only faced one team holding onto a playoff spot (Tampa Bay), so the 22-14-6 Flyers should represent a challenge for Rick Bowness (named as a coach for the All-Star game) and his squad.
Winnipeg has been playing at an elite level for quite a while now, setting and chasing franchise & NHL records every time they step on the ice. Beside their little franchise-record winning streak, the Jets are 12-0-2 in the past 14 games and 16-2-2 over the previous 20 matches. Not impressed yet? Well, how about only allowing 5 goals against in Winnipeg’s past 5 victories? The Peggers out-scored opponents 18 to 5 in those matches, while out-pacing teams 35 to 14 in the 10 games before that, and netting 35 to 21 in the set of 10 matches prior to that. Need more? Well, they have gone 31 games while only allowing teams to score 3 goals or less, putting them 4 games away from tying the Minnesota Wild for a expansion-era NHL record and 13 games away from matching the Boston Bruins 1928-1929 NHL record of 44 straight games.
With all that, it’s not surprising that the Jets lead the NHL in the lowest goals against category (95), making them the only franchise not to allow 100 goals on their tenders so far. That defensive skill has vaulted the Winnipeg Jets into the 1st place spot in the NHL with 60 pts in the opening half of their regular season. What a ride it has been, eh? Word is that Scheifele is a no-go for today’s match and Ehlers is a game-time decision….check back later to see how the Jets will deploy their forward units.
The Philadelphia Flyers are another team that has out-performed the expectations of the “hockey experts“, as the franchise is surprisingly holding onto the 3rd spot in the Metropolitan Division with 50 pts in 42 games. The Flyers have been led by a couple of players with the first name Travis, with forward Konecny playing great (21G/18A) and defenseman Sanheim putting up 21 assists from the backend. Goaltenders Hart & Ersson are having solid seasons, with save percentages of .911 and .903 respectively. Philly has also seen winger Joel Farabee excel this year, as the 23 year old has 14 goals and 32 points to date. And of course, Gauthier’s decision not to sign with the Flyers netted them a very promising young RHD in a trade (Drysdale), instantly making the team even better.
Can Winnipeg raise their level of play to make things difficult for Philadelphia? It would best for the Jets to focus on making the game a defensive affair, because the Flyers have displayed a fairly potent offense (averaging over 30 shots per game) when given the chance. The Jets have been near-perfect versus the Eastern Conference in 2023-24 with an 11-0-3 record…does Philly have it in them to give Winnipeg their first regulation loss?
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