Time: 9:30 pm CST
Channel: TSN3
Radio: CJOB680/Power 97
It appears that Cara accidently scheduled the Preview that she did for 9 pm instead of 9 am. So here is what I whipped up for some day-time reading.
The Winnipeg Jets will begin a 3 game trip to the west coast tonight when they face off at the SAP Center against the San Jose Sharks.
Despite putting up some historically poor stats, the franchise that brought the colour teal to the NHL is still fighting for last place with the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. Currently the Sharks hold the “advantage” with only 21 points, to the Hawks’ 24 and the Ducks’ 27. This is a San Jose team that has only scored 78 goals in 38 games, lighting the lamp 9 times less than the Chicago Blackhawks. They have allowed over 4 goals against per game for a massive total of 158 GAs, which has them giving up 14 more markers than the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sharks are currently on pace for a 45 pt season and to give you an idea how bad that it, no NHL team since 2002-03 (as far back as ESPN’s stats went) has had so few points in a full 82 game regular season. **In the 2019-20 season that was impacted by Covid, the Detroit Red Wings had 39 pts in 71 games, which would project to 45 pts in 82 games.
Are the SJ Sharks on a 9 game losing streak? Yep. Have they only scored 14 goals in those 9 games? You betcha. And allowed 41 goals against? Confirmed.
Having said all that, while the red-hot Winnipeg Jets have only one regulation loss in their past 10 games, it came against this San Jose squad (the Sharks last win before starting the losing streak). They also have a miserable 3-6 record versus the Pacific Division, so the coaching staff & players have to take tonight’s match seriously to avoid the inevitable trap game.
Rick Bowness had shuffled the lines near the end of the Lightning game, but with no pre-game practice scheduled until 1:30 pm we really don’t know if the lines will return to normal versus the Sharks. With back-to-back games in California, both of Winnipeg’s goaltenders should see action in the next two days but once again there hasn’t been any word on who will be in the crease yet.
The Jets had 3 of 4 forward lines firing on all cylinders against Tampa, can they get the top line going again to make this team even more dangerous?
Random Winnipeg Jets Stats:
Connor Hellebuyck:
- 1st in NHL in Goals Saved Above Expected with 15.4 in all situations and 17.7 during 5 on 5 play.
- 69th in Goals Saved Above Expected at 4 on 5.
Nik Ehlers:
- How good is the Danish winger? Well, the Ehlers/Scheifele/Vilardi line is 8th best in the NHL in Actual Goal Percentage with 84.6%, the Ehlers/Namestnikov/Perfetti trio is tied for 15th with 75%, with the Connor/Scheifele/Ehlers unit in that same group. **min of 70 minutes of ice-time together.
- The best Winnipeg forward line without Ehlers involved? The Appleton/Lowry/Niederreiter line with 62.5% of actual goals.
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