Time: 2:00 pm CST
Channel: SportsNet
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
Three whole days have passed since the Winnipeg Jets last played an NHL game, allowing some of their banged up players to get a bit of rest. Unfortunately, the break wasn’t enough to allow a Mark Scheifele return today versus the Ottawa Senators, so the top line pivot will be watching another contest from the press-box.
The visiting Jets will bring their 29-10-4 record to the Canadian Tire Centre to square off against the 16-24-0 Senators on Saturday, making the match a battle between teams with the 3rd and 29th best records in the NHL.
The Winnipeg Jets are 9-1 in their past 10 games and can tie the Vancouver Canucks for the league lead if they can pick up 2 points today in the nation’s capital. I am not expecting much in the way of changes from the coaching staff, but I wonder if starting Laurent Brossoit would be the best move with three tough games against the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs on deck. Either way, the Jets can likely expect a strong performance, as both tenders have played well: Connor Hellebuyck 2.19 GAA/.925 save % and Brossoit 2.18 GAA/.923 save %. With his first goal since November, Mason Appleton finally got the monkey off his back last game and I have a feeling the third line will play a key role in today’s game. With Adam Lowry filling in on the top line, I would love to see Nino Niederreiter pick up his game to drive his bottom six trio.
The Ottawa Senators tried to solve their goaltending issues by locking up Joonas Korpisalo (5 yrs @ $4M), but that decision hasn’t played out well so far (.885 save % & a 9-15 record). The Sens are getting great scoring from some of their top players (Tim Stutzle 41 pts, Claude Giroux 38 pts, Brady Tkachuk 36 pts, & Drake Batherson 34 pts), but the rest of the lineup hasn’t contributed often enough, leaving Ottawa with the 17th most goals in the NHL. Defensively things aren’t getting better, as today’s home team has allowed the 10th most goals against in 2023-24. Ottawa recently signed forward Shane Pinto after his half year suspension, but I am unsure if he’s ready to get back into the lineup yet. One interesting thing I did notice during my research was that the Senators are the only NHL team not to have lost a game in overtime or shootout this season.
Rick Bowness gave the squad a couple days to rest during the break, but even so a significant number of players showed up for optional skates each day. Can Winnipeg return to a high level of play following the short break? Will the Jets maintain their excellent performances defensively (like the Energizer Bunny, Winnipeg’s 3 goals against or less streak is still going) and against the Eastern Conference (12-1-3 vs East & 8-0-2 vs Atlantic)?
I guess Brad Lambert’s non-concussion injury got me so depressed that I totally forgot about the Manitoba Moose’s game last night. Based on the stats, the Jets’ minor league affiliate appeared to be about to end their long losing streak with a 4 to 2 lead after 2 periods, but a strange third period collapse (2 goals against Collin Delia on 3 shots in final frame) led to an overtime loss. The Moose have now dropped 8 straight, but at least rookie Nikita Chibrikov picked up his 11th goal of the season in the game.
Join us at 2 pm to chat about the game on the Game Day Thread article…..enjoy the weekend and Go Jets!!
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