Time: 6:00 pm CST
Channel: TSN
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
The Winnipeg Jets will be visiting the Madison Square Garden for a match versus the New York Rangers on Tuesday evening. The contest will feature two of the NHL’s top 5 franchises, with the hometown Rangers having the league’s 2nd best record and the visiting Jets holding onto the 5th spot. The NY Rangers are currently one point off the league leading Boston Bruins, while the Jets sit 4 points back of the B’s.
New York has been playing very well lately, going 5-1 in their past six matches that included two shutouts of St. Louis & Carolina by Igor Shesterkin (2.59 GAA/.912%). The coaching staff also has a viable backup option as well in the ageless Jonathan Quick (2.46 GAA/.916%), but they will probably go with their Vezina-contending starter for tonight’s game.
The Blueshirts best scorer this season has clearly been Artemi Panarin, whose 94 points through 68 games is already very close to becoming a career best (96 pts). The Russian sniper has already set a high for goals in a season with 38 in 2023-24, the fourth time he has hit the 30 goal mark in his nine year career. Here is how the rest of the NY Rangers’ top scorers look:
The league’s #2 team has been excellent in the friendly confines of the Garden, with a 24-8-0 record to date (only 2 other NHL teams have less losses at home this year). So Winnipeg will surely be tested tonight by a New York squad that has scored 19 more goals than they have, while allowing opponents to net 27 more than the Jets. With Blake Wheeler currently on the shelf with an injury, fans will only get to see two former Winnipeg Jets tonight in defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Jack Roslovic.
The Winnipeg Jets have been fairly successful away from the Peg, going 20-10-3 on the road, and have amassed a 4-2-0 record over the past 6 contests. Those games include two shutouts by Laurent Brossoit (1.99 GAA/.927%) and one by Connor Hellebuyck (2.31 GAA/.922%), so it appears that all the goaltenders available to play tonight are playing well. Mark Scheifele is leading the Jets in points with 59, while Tyler Toffoli is the team’s leading goal scorer (30). Our team relies on depth scoring to get the job done, with 10 players with at least 30 points on the season and coach Rick Bowness has everyone except injured forward Gabriel Vilardi available for Tuesdays’ match. Winnipeg had a few players sitting in the pressbox (Dylan Samberg, Cole Perfetti, Rasmus Kupari, & Colin Miller), but since today’s morning skate hasn’t occurred yet, I don’t know if there will be any lineup changes for tonight.
Here is how New York & Winnipeg match up statistically this season:
Well, the Jets feasted on some of the NHL’s worst squads and now they get to tackle one of the league’s elite franchises. Hopefully the goal scoring confidence will carry over, but Winnipeg really needs to be mindful about their defensive responsibilities if they want to come out victorious in Manhattan.
That’s about all I got, as I need to dig into my official work duties and get ready to watch the Manitoba Moose’s 10:30 am game versus the Grand Rapids Griffins.
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