I really enjoy getting almost every second Monday off of work, but typically don’t let myself sleep in until 10 am. So while I did get off to a late start today, at least I am well rested. 🙂 Giving the Preview feature photo to Gabriel Vilardi in the hopes it inspires him to his best game of the season….the Jets need to see a bit more from the right winger at even strength so why not get that going tonight?
The Winnipeg Jets (8-0-0) will be back in action on Monday evening when the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-4-1) visit the NHL’s hottest squad at the Canada Life Centre. Things have been going in opposite directions for the two franchises lately, as our Jets remain undefeated this season while the Leafs have dropped 3 straight contests (BOS, STL, CLM). The game will begin a 6:30 pm CST and will unfortunately only be aired on Amazon Prime, which makes me feel sorry for any fans that are unable to watch it.
While the mainstream media have largely ignored Winnipeg’s streak to begin the year, that will likely change as the team from the “center of the universe” will ensure all the hockey pundit’s eyes are on tonight’s clash. Sounds like the perfect time for our Jets to show the world what they are capable of?? Or the flip side is also a possibility, will the True North group lay an egg with all the national attention?
Lets take a look at the starting rosters from PuckPedia to help us determine which way it will go….here is how coach Scott Arniel is planning on deploying his troops:
The Jets will not be making any changes other than the return of Connor Hellebuyck (1.66 GAA/.940%) to the crease…if you keep getting the end results you want, pretty hard to start fooling around with things, I guess.
As I said previously, Winnipeg currently has eight players averaging at least a point per game and have Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, & Neal Pionk all tied for the team lead with 10 pts. Other Jets have been hot too, with Cole Perfetti amassing 9 pts in his past 5 games and Nino Niederreiter scoring 4 goals & 6 pts in his past 4 matches.
Despite all those great things, I really don’t think our Winnipeg Jets have played a complete game to date. The squad is giving their opposition more space in the low slot than last year’s dominant defenders, so that will be a focus for the coaches against a Maple Leaf team that has plenty of fire power.
Lets take a peek at the lineup Toronto’s coach Craig Berube hopes will end Winnipeg’s winning streak:
The Maple Leafs have been better in their own end under their new head coach, but inconsistent goaltending hasn’t resulted in their goals against displaying that well. One bright note in net has been Anthony Stotarz, who is the likely starter tonight and he’ll bring his 2-1-0 record & .927 save percentage to bear against Winnipeg.
The usual suspects are leading the Buds in scoring, with Mitch Marner (10 pts), Auston Matthews (7 pts), & William Nylander (7 pts) sitting atop the scoring stats. While the offense will be important for Toronto if they hope to leave Manitoba with 2 points, it is likely the defensive side of things will be their key after allowing 15 goals against over the past 3 contests.
Lets take a deeper look at how these two franchises compare this season, as well as ESPN’s stats on the masked men.
Well, I better get this article up so Arctic Ice Hockey member Padre has the time to do his wonderful prognostications in the comment section. Since I haven’t made any predictions myself this year, I will keep doing that and leave the crystal ball work to him. No need to jinx our squad by doing anything different.
So, after the Jets have already put Arniel in the record books for the best start to a coaching career with a new franchise….can they keep defying the odds and remain unbeaten through 9 games? Toronto should represent a real challenge for our squad, will Jets’ players rise to the occasion or is the first inevitable loss going to happen against the hated Leafs??
Guess we will have to tune it at 6:30 pm CST tonight to find out……Go Winnipeg!!!
