Time: 6:30 pm CST
Channel: SportsNet
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
After being trounced by the Vancouver Canucks in a game where the Winnipeg Jets had very little push back, the team will be back on the ice against the Washington Capitals on Monday evening. Fans will be hoping for a return of Rick Bowness-style hockey against a Caps team desperate for wins after the Jets worst performance of the season. Despite being sellers at the deadline where they moved players like Anthony Mantha, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Joel Edmundson, the Capitals are just 3 points below the Eastern Conference’s final wildcard spot.
The Winnipeg Jets were on the opposite end of the trade deadline spectrum, as they added a couple players to help their quest for a deep playoff run. The duo of former New Jersey Devils weren’t able to join their new franchise on the west coast road trip, but Tyler Toffoli and Colin Miller were both present at today’s morning skate. Toffoli is donning #73 and has slotted in on the 2nd line with Sean Monahan. Miller is also looking like a potential starter against the Caps, as he is suited up in a #6 jersey and playing along side Dylan Samberg on the 3rd pairing. The bad news is that Gabriel Vilardi is still absent from team activities, so looks like he will miss at least one more match.
The Jets find themselves 4 points behind the hot Dallas Stars for the top spot in the Central Division. The Colorado Avalanche are tied with Winnipeg, but have played 2 more games and we can’t forget about the charging Nashville Predators (who are 7 pts back after going 8-0-2 in their past 10 contests).
Here are the full lines from today’s morning skate:
Connor-Scheifele-Ehlers
Iaffalo-Monahan-Toffoli
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Namestnikov-Perfetti
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Miller
Hellebuyck
Brossoit
The Washington Capitals are a surprising low scoring team despite having a player chasing Gretzky’s career goals record (Alexander Ovechkin), averaging a bit over 2.5 goals per game. Hopefully this will allow our defense to rediscover their tight checking ways without being tested severely. The Caps are coming off impressive victories over the Chicago Blackhawks & Pittsburgh Penguins, outscoring their opposition 10-1 in the matches, so the Jets can’t take them lightly.
I expect the Capitals to deploy a bunch of young & hungry players to fill the spots of the players moved prior to March 8th, so Winnipeg should expect a speedy forecheck on dump ins. The Jets have been struggling with their zone exit passes in their past three games, so it is imperative that our players are in the proper spots to allow easy outs.
Check out how these two franchises stack up against each other…..
Will both the new players break into the lineup tonight? Can Toffoli pocket one in his first game in a Jets’ uniform? How will the Samberg-Miller pairing look playing together?
After all the angst caused by Saturday’s low effort affair, can Bowness and his staff get the players in the right frame of mind to play the stingy defensive systems he expects?
So many questions to be answer and the only way to discover the answers is to tune in tonight. Join us here to share your thoughts on the game and cheer on our Winnipeg Jets.
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