So far this season, things have gone really well for the Winnipeg Jets (14-1-0) and the team will look to keep things rolling right along when they start out on another road trip. This time, the True North franchise will be heading out on a 3 game journey through the eastern United States that will see them face some very tough competition. First up on the agenda is the New York Rangers (9-3-1), a squad that made it all the way to the Conference Finals in the last post-season.
After beginning the season on an 8 game winning streak, the Jets will try to match that with a victory tonight at the Madison Square Garden in NYC. The Rangers shot out of the gate this year, winning 5 of their first 6 contests before the results started to taper off (4-3 in past 7). The Blueshirts are 4-2-1 when playing at their home arena, while the visiting Peggers are the NHL’s only undefeated road team (6-0-0).
In the Jets last outing, us fans got to witness the top two American goaltenders going head-to-head when the Dallas Stars visited our city….now we get to see the best two goalies in the entire league go toe-to-toe!! New York’s Igor Shesterkin is looking to become the league’s highest paid tender on his next contract and has began the season with a 6-3-1 record, a 2.62 GAA, & a .920 save percentage. While Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck is off to a phenomenal start with a 11-1-0 record, a 1.83 GAA, & a .935 save percentage. And when you get to ESPN’s goalie comparison below, you will see that the backups are performing just as well.
As it is way too early for any starting lineup confirmation from head coach Scott Arniel, we will assume for now that there will be no alterations to the Jets’ group below (via PuckPedia):
The Winnipeg Jets’ offense has been fantastic in 2024-25, leading the NHL with 67 red lights, allowing the franchise to have an amazing 11 skaters with more than 10 points. The biggest point getters include forwards Mark Scheifele (19 pts), Kyle Connor (19), & Nikolaj Ehlers (18), but the Jets also have two high scoring defensemen in Josh Morrissey (16) & Neal Pionk (14).
With a +36 goal differential, I guess it isn’t that surprising to see that only 4th liners Morgan Barron & Rasmus Kupari have a negative plus/minus rating. As a result of that large margin, Winnipeg currently has 7 players in the NHL’s top 20 plus/minus, with captain Adam Lowry one off the league lead at +13.
I browsed the net to find out what the New York Rangers’ Peter Laviolette had planned for his lineup tonight and this is what both Daily Face Off & PuckPedia had:
New York has also received offensive contributions from the entire roster in the early part of the season, with 9 different players amassing at least 8 points in the opening 13 games. The clear cut star for the Rangers so far has been Artemi Panarin, whose very impressive 10 goals & 11 assists puts him in a tie for the 9th most points in the NHL (21). Young Alexis Lafreniere is looking to build on last year’s 57 point campaign and is off to a good start (11 pts).
Here is the rest of New York’s top 10 scorers, via ESPN:
With uber-talented tender Igor Shesterkin coming off a rare poor performance in his last outing (5 goals against on 12 shots before being pulled), I will be expecting him to be super motivated for the game against Winnipeg…which doesn’t bode well for our boys.
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:
The Winnipeg Jets have allowed one goal against in their past 3 matches and are riding high on a 7 game winning streak…..will they be able to keep the magic going or will reality rear it’s ugly face??? Lets hear your thoughts about the upcoming clash in the comment section below. I know I am looking forward to reading Padre’s or any other Arctic Ice Hockey members’ predictions for the game against the Rangers.
Have a great day and……………
Go Winnipeg!!
