I am not really sure if the Winnipeg Jets are in Florida to play hockey or just meet up with their former coaches. During yesterday’s practice, the team got a surprise visit from recently retired Rick Bowness as they prepared to go head-to-head against Paul Maurice’s Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
The first contest in the state didn’t go that well, as our Jets were out-hustled & out-skated by the Tampa Bay Lightning, leading to the Peggers losing their 2nd contest of the 2024-25 campaign. Here’s hoping that we get to witness a more motivated squad tonight against the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
When the puck is dropped at 6 pm CST tonight at the Amerant Bank Arena, the 15-2-0 Winnipeg Jets will take on the 11-5-1 Florida Panthers in a battle between two of the NHL’s top 5 franchises. Both squads are coming in off losses, as the Jets dropped the previously mentioned game to the Bolts and the Panthers were swept in a 2 game series against the New Jersey Devils. Neither team is dealing with hugely significant injuries, with Winnipeg missing 3rd pairing defense options in Logan Stanley & Ville Heinola and the Cats being without forward Tomas Nosek. The game will also give Jets’ fans the chance to see former defenseman Nate Schmidt again, as he suits up for the defending champs.
The Winnipeg Jets are being led offensively by Kyle Connor (22 pts), Mark Scheifele (21), & Nikolaj Ehlers (20), but they also have 11 skaters with at least 10 points. The Jets have been getting solid goaltending from the defending Vezina winner, Connor Hellebuyck (1.92 GAA/.934%) and backup Eric Comrie (2.78 GAA/.909).
Here is how PuckPedia predicts head coach Scott Arniel will deploy his troops tonight:
The Florida Panthers’ leading scorer is winger Sam Reinhart, who has 13 goals and 25 points in the Cats’ opening 17 games. Star players have missed some games for the Panthers, with Aleksander Barkov missing 8 contests, but is still piling up the points (14 pts), while Matthew Tkachuk wasn’t in the lineup for 5 matches (11). Other key scorers include Sam Bennett (16), Anton Lundell (14), and Carter Verhaeghe (12).
Despite being a key reason for their recent Cup win, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky hasn’t been putting up fantastic numbers this year (3.14 GAA/.889%), although his win-loss record is still good (8-3-1). Backup Spencer Knight has done a bit better in his 6 starts stat-wise (2.85 GAA/.897%), but his record isn’t as nice (3-2-0).
Here is how PuckPedia is projecting coach Paul Maurice to line up their players on Saturday:
Time to check out how the two franchises compare head-to-head based on this season’s stats and to check out ESPN’s review of the masked men:
Both franchises should be well motivated to pick up a win tonight, despite the fact that they sit atop their Division standings. The Florida Panthers only have a 1 point lead on the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic, while the Winnipeg Jets great start has only given them a 5 point cushion on the hot Minnesota Wild in the Central.
If you want to check out the enemies’ perspective of tonight’s clash, check out the link below:
Will our team return to the win column tonight against their former coach? Who will be the Jets best players in the match? Can Winnipeg find the intensity they need to take down a quality opponent? So many questions that can only be answered by tuning in this evening. Enjoy your weekend everyone!!
Go Winnipeg!!
