Well, after having an extended stretch of time off, the Winnipeg Jets will get back to game action when they square off with the visiting San Jose Sharks. On a chilly mid-October evening, the Canada Life Centre will host a Jets squad that is undefeated through 3 contests (3-0-0) and a Sharks team that has yet to pick up a win in 2024-25 (0-2-2).
Here is a comment from one of Arctic Ice Hockey’s valued members that aptly wraps up how favourable the early stats are to the Jets…
For the second straight game, Winnipeg will be facing opponents who played the previous night, as San Jose dropped a 4-2 decision to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. Since goaltender Vitek Vanecek (2.63 GAA/.911%) was in the Sharks’ crease versus the Hawks, I am guessing that means that the Jets will be going up against MacKenzie Blackwood (3.34 GAA/.910%).
San Jose will be missing some key players when they come to the Peg, as rookie Macklin Celebrini (2 pts in 1 gm) is on IR, along with veterans like Logan Couture & Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The Sharks did add a couple forwards in the off-season, Alexander Wennberg (0 pts) and former Jet Tyler Toffoli. The early results may not be great with Wennberg, but Toffoli has paid off with 3 goals & an assist in the opening 4 matches. Despite that success, SJ is sitting with the 30th most points in the NHL at the moment, with only the 0-4-0 Colorado Avalanche & Nashville Predators below them. Here is what the projected lines look like for Friday’s clash…(lineups courtesy of PuckPedia)
Even though the Winnipeg Jets haven’t been firing on all cylinders, the franchise has picked up 3 straight wins and with a good effort will be able to extend the widening gap between them and the struggling Avs & Preds. Division rivals like the Dallas Stars (4-1-0) and Utah Hockey Club (3-1-1) should keep the Jets’ players motivated against an expected bottom-feeder, so I am hoping to witness their best game of the season.
Early signs point to Winnipeg playing a similar style to last season, with the hopes that focusing on limiting chances against their goaltenders will allow what should be a middle of the pack offense to win enough games for them. One big change has been the Jets finding success with their special teams, which have been pretty stellar through the opening contests (see The Match Up graphic below for stats).
Coming into Friday’s game, the True North franchise has 5 players averaging at least a point per game pace: Mark Scheifele (6 pts), Josh Morrissey (4 pts), Adam Lowry (3 pts), Kyle Connor (3 pts), & Mason Appleton (3 pts). However, Winnipeg’s real star has been Connor Hellebuyck (0.66 GAA/.976%) as he has almost been perfect in net by stopping 81 of 83 shots.
With the success the team has had, it is not surprising that there will be no lineup changes for tonight’s clash (lineups courtesy of PuckPedia).
There has been a bit of news on the injury front, as big Logan Stanley is back on the ice after his surgery and is already looking like he will make the permanent switch to a full-contact jersey soon. The other thing is that Jaret Anderson-Dolan sustained a fracture when he blocked a shot during a pre-season game, which explains his visit to the IR list. Unfortunately, no update on Ville Heinola at this point, but I expect to hear something in the next week or two about the unlucky Finn.
Here is how the Sharks & Jets match up head-to-head……
Well, the puck drops at 7 pm CST, let’s hope it ends up being a fun contest to watch. Seems my memory recalls Winnipeg playing less than their best when they faced San Jose in recent seasons, so I am hoping they can buck that trend with a truly dominating performance.
I will be very busy tonight as the Jets’ minor league affiliate will also be in action as the Manitoba Moose visit the Grand Rapids Griffins (6 pm CST). The ECHL Norfolk Admirals kick off their season as well. Lot of hockey to pay attention to, but the weekend is almost here….so everything is good!!!
