Time: 6:00 pm CST
Channel: TSN3
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
Everyone except Connor Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor had a nice break during the All-Star festivities, so the Winnipeg Jets should be primed to restart things against the Pittsburgh Penguins this evening.
New acquisition Sean Monahan will try to provide a boost, as should the expected return of Mark Scheifele from injury. Though, so far Winnipeg has not put anyone on waivers to make room for the pivot’s return to the lineup. We could get more information after today’s morning skate, but from all appearances tonight will be just the FOURTH game where all Scheifele, Connor, & Gabriel Vilardi are playing at the same time. The Jets will look to keep up their stellar defensive play (least goals against in the NHL) with the help of Connor Hellebuyck’s .924 save percentage while hopefully finding more offense (6 goals in past 4 games). The addition of Monahan drops Vladislav Namestnikov to the 4th line and I expect to see the fiesty center bring the level of Morgan Barron’s and Alex Iafallo’s play up a notch. That forward depth will play a key role in how well this Winnipeg squad does this year.
The Jets will be trying to avoid a season-long losing streak in Pittsburgh (currently 3 games), but neither franchise has been hot over the past 5 games (2-2-1).
The Pittsburgh Penguins are sitting 7 points out of the last wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, but they do have games in hand on the teams they are chasing. Ironically, the Pens easiest path to the post-season is the 3rd place spot in the Metro division, as they are only 5 pts behind the Flyers with 4 games in hand. Having extra games is a nice bonus, but you have to win most of those matches to make them count. And that starts for Pittsburgh tonight at the PPG Paints Arena, where the team has gone 12-8-3 this season. Tonight’s clash will also see Jansen Harkins suit up against his former teammates, so us fans get to see one of the many waiver-claim losses of Chevy’s regime.
The Pens have been getting decent goaltending from all their options (Tristan Jarry .913%, Alex Nedeljkovic .918%, & Magnus Hellberg .922%) and that has helped them to a very respectable +12 goal differential. Sidney Crosby is playing like “Sid the Kid” again in 2023-24, amassing an impressive 27 goals and 50 points at the age of 35.
The Winnipeg Jets seem to have a habit of letting superstar players beat them (Bedard’s multiple goals this season, Matthew’s recent game winner, etc), so will we see a repeat of that tonight against Crosby? Or will the Jets storm into Pittsburgh to get back into the win column?
Either way….I am glad that hockey is back, was getting a little squirrelly without my regular fix.
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