It has been just over 5 weeks since the Winnipeg Jets opened up the 2024-25 National Hockey League campaign with a match against the Edmonton Oilers. And somehow our squad has only dropped one contest in all that time!! I know that I haven’t really embraced the Jets’ amazing start to the season in my articles to date, but that is about to end.
Winnipeg currently sits atop the NHL standings with a 15-1-0 record and 30 points, giving them a full 3 game lead over their nearest competitor (New Jersey who has also played 3 more games). The Jets +39 team goal differential is also #1 in the league, a whopping 19 goals over the nearest NHL squad (Carolina Hurricanes). It doesn’t end there, as the True Northers have also scored the most goals this season (73) and their closest rivals have only 66 (NJ in 19 gms & VEG in 16 gms). When it comes to goals against this year, Winnipeg is currently sitting with the 2nd lowest total (34), but the teams around them have played two less matches (DAL @ 33 & NYR @ 36). The powerplay also gives the Peggers one more #1 ranking in the statistics, as the Jets’ 42.2% conversion rate is quite a bit higher than the #2 Colorado Avalanche (33.3%).
This incredible start to the season means the Winnipeg Jets could go .500 for the remainder of the season and still end up with 96 pts, which would put them in or just below a wildcard spot. That is a huge advantage with 66 games still to come….
Speaking of upcoming matches, the Winnipeg Jets (15-1-0) have travelled to Florida for a rematch with the Tampa Bay Lightning (7-6-1) on Thursday evening. These two teams have been heading in opposite directions lately, as the Jets are on an eight game winning streak while the Bolts have dropped their last four outings. The bad news for Winnipeg is that Tampa Bay has struggled on the road (3-5-0), but have been formidable when playing at the Amalie Arena (4-1-1). The graphic below from the Bolts’ fan site Raw Charge shows how differently Andrei Vasilevskiy has played when at home versus the road:
The Winnipeg Jets are dealing with a couple injuries to defenseman Logan Stanley and forward David Gustafsson, but those absences shouldn’t impact the team’s game that much. Our Jets have three skaters with at least 20 points in Kyle Connor (22), Mark Scheifele (21), and Nikolaj Ehlers (20), but the offense has been spread out since there are another 8 players that have at least 10 points.
The Jets’ top forward line has been outscoring opponents 9 to 1 over the past 7 contests and when they do that, Winnipeg can really roll four lines to keep the pressure constantly on their opponent’s defense. Coach Scott Arniel is also appreciating the quality play the 4th line has been giving the Jets…you can’t discount how important it is to have a bottom six that can spend time in the offensive zone no matter who is on the ice against them.
Too early for the pre-game skate as I am writing this, so we will assume that PuckPedia is correctly predicting the lineup below:
The Tampa Bay Lightning are coming in with 4 straight losses, however they last played a full week ago on November 7th. So that is a lot of practice time for a quality coach like Jon Cooper to get his squad going in the right direction. When you combine that with how well Vasilevskiy plays at home, our Jets should have their hands full this evening.
Even with that time off, the Lightning will be without a key forward when they face Winnipeg as Brayden Point is still on the shelf, along with former Jet Michael Eyssimont. Tampa’s star Nikita Kucherov is off to his usual high-scoring start (23 pts), but the Bolts have gotten offense from other players as well (7 skaters with over 11 pts). The loss of Point could make TB’s powerplay less dangerous, as the center has pocketed 5 of the 8 man-advantage goals on the year.
Here is how PuckPedia is projecting the Lightning coaching staff to line up their players on Thursday:
I have no idea whether the Jets will start Eric Comrie or Connor Hellebuyck when the puck drops at 6 pm CST, but it is possible us fans will get to watch yet another great goalie matchup. After Bucky downing both Jake Oettinger & Igor Shesterkin, he now might have to go toe-to-toe with another stellar tender in Andrei Vasilevskiy.
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:
Well, I am running out of time before my actual paid employment gets underway for the day….here’s hoping your Thursday goes well and make sure to get your thoughts/predictions in the comment section for us Arctic Ice Hockey members to enjoy.
Go Winnipeg!!
