The Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul will not only be hosting the top 2 teams in the Central Division on Monday evening, but the best 2 franchises in the entire National Hockey League.
Both the Winnipeg Jets (17-4-0) and Minnesota Wild (13-3-4) are playing extremely well to start the season, however will be entering the contest on a one game losing streak (Jets lost to the Preds, while the Wild dropped a SO game to the Flames). The injury bug has also bit each squad, as Winnipeg is dealing with the loss of defensemen Dylan Samberg & Logan Stanley, while Minnesota is without forward Mats Zuccarello and possibly Kirill Kaprizov. However, rumour seems to indicate the Wild’s leading scorer (34 pts) will be making his return from injury tonight. The Jets will also have a player returning from injury, as defenseman Ville Heinola will make his NHL debut this year after a short reconditioning stint with the Manitoba Moose.
Monday’s game will be the second time the Jets & Wild go head-to-head this year, with Winnipeg pulling out a tight 2-1 overtime victory on October 13th in Manitoba.
Here is how PuckPedia is predicting Minnesota & Winnipeg to line up their players this evening:
The Wild have quite a bit of talent on their roster, especially when you consider their GM has to deal with a $14M cap penalty taking up a bunch of space. A good mix of veterans & youth, fancy moves & grit….this Minnesota team plays a high intensity game and will try to shut down Winnipeg’s offense with stifling defense & strong goaltending.
The Jets play a very similar style when they are at their best and our squad will need their legs to be much better than they were on Saturday versus the Predators. In particular, Winnipeg’s top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, & Gabriel Vilardi were absolutely invisible offensively against Nashville and they will need to be much better tonight against the Wild.
Shout out to former Jet Declan Chisholm as he will suit up against his former squad….while many Winnipeg players will be returning to their home state with the hopes of playing well in front of their family & friends.
Lets check out how the two franchises compare head-to-head based on this season’s stats and take a peek at ESPN’s review of the masked men:
The stats above are almost mirror images of each other, showing just how well both these franchises have been playing to start of the season. Taking all that information into consideration…lets hear the game predictions in the comment section below!!
Will Heinola make a good 1st impression in his season debut? Can the Jets find enough offensive zone time to limit the time Winnipeg’s banged up backend has to spend in their end? Who will be the Jets’ best performer of the match?
Go Winnipeg!!
