The Winnipeg Jets (7-0-0) will end their road trip on Saturday when they visit the ScotiaBank Saddledome to take on the Calgary Flames (5-1-1). I believe Sportsnet will be providing the coverage tonight…what could be better than a Saturday night than a clash between Canada’s two best franchises?? Check out ESPN’s top 10 NHL teams coming into todays’ action…
Winnipeg has continued to receive offensive contributions from all lines, but it has been Adam Lowry’s forward unit that has been the key to the Jets’ success. Nino Niederreiter has been on a goal scoring streak, pocketing 4 goals over the past 3 contests, but our team has also seen improved play from the 2nd line of Nikolaj Ehlers, Cole Perfetti, & Vladislav Namestnikov lately too. Speedy Ehlers and young Perfetti in particular have excelled over the past 4 games, with 7 and 8 points respectively.
Coach Scott Arniel is being sneaky about today’s starter….will we see another Connor Hellebuyck start or will Eric Comrie make his 2nd appearance of the season? Your guess is as good as mine…here is how PuckPedia predicts today’s starting lineup:
The Calgary Flames started off with a perfect record through 4 contests, but have since dropped 2 of the last 3. That is not to say that the southern Albertan franchise is starting the expected drop in the standings, because they were very much in each of those games and represent a real challenge for our Jets tonight.
Winnipeg always seems to have the most trouble when they come up against hard-working teams and I think this year’s version of the Flames represents that well. Calgary has received strong goaltending to start off the campaign, as well as a balanced offense (17 of 18 starting players with at least a point).
While defenseman Rasmus Andersson (9 pts) and Jonathan Huberdeau (7 pts) lead the team, ESPN’s top Flame scorers show many others are contributing:
Here is how PuckPedia predicts the Calgary Flames to deploy their players on Saturday, based on Friday’s practice lines:
And some more stats, as I did a graphic showing how the two NHL franchises compare and the ESPN provides us a look at the potential goalies:
Well, I am quite late at getting this done and the start of the Manitoba Moose game is almost upon me….so I will wrap up quickly. Can the Winnipeg Jets extend their amazing start to the campaign or will their western neighbours bring them back to Earth? Can Padre continue to show off his prediction abilities by once again being almost correct. I believe that he could be a peripheral visionary…yes, he can see the future, but only really far off to the side (paraphrasing Steven Wright joke). At least that could explain why he is only partially right…lol
Go Winnipeg Jets!!! Go Manitoba Moose!!
