After the Winnipeg Jets rose to the occasion against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night, our squad is completing a three game road trip by visiting the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday evening.
A dominating performance by the True Northers against the top team in the Pacific Division moved the franchise to a magic number of 5.5 to lock up the Central. With 6 games remaining in the regular season, Winnipeg is doing their best to hold off the surging Dallas Stars (winners of 7 straight) and they will hope to avoid a potential trap game when they visit Utah tonight.
The Jets (52-20-4) have matched their most ever wins in a regular season and with 6 contests remaining, the Manitoba hockey club will likely set another highwater mark in a season that has seen it’s fair share of record breaking feats. The hottest start to an NHL campaign, winning streaks of 7, 8, and 11 games, franchise record for most shutouts in one season (9), a starting goaltender that is leading all the major statistical categories, the league’s best defense (13 less goals against than nearest competition), etc. And there are still records to set, as Winnipeg’s star sniper, Kyle Connor, is within 2 points of tying the team’s highest point total in a season (93 pts) and goalie Connor Hellebuyck is 1 win away from matching his career-best of 44 while also being 5 wins from tying the NHL record of 48.
The Hockey Club (34-30-12) had hoped the move from Arizona would see the franchise take a step forward in 2024-25. While Utah has surpassed last season’s point total of 77 points already (80), they cannot afford to lose another point over their last 6 games without being eliminated from playoff contention. The team did have to deal with numerous injuries in 2024-25, so I expect them to make the Central Division even scarier next year by living up to their potential.
Winnipeg has won 4 out of their last 5 contests, while Utah has gone 2-2-1. The two Central rivals have played three matches this season, with the home squad coming away victorious every time (3-0 WPG, 5-2 UTH, 5-2 WPG).
It doesn’t look like the Jets’ competition is dealing with many injuries, as they are only without goalie Connor Ingram at this time. Winnipeg has more issues, with Gabriel Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari, & Neal Pionk on the sidelines, plus the potential of banged up Nikolaj Ehlers being unable to go tonight. Here is how PuckPedia is predicting the coaches the will line up their players when the puck drops at 6 pm Central:
Utah only has one former Winnipeg Jet on their squad, with bottom sixer Kevin Stenlund having his best statistical season (12 goals & 22 pts in 76 gms) after picking up a Stanley Cup ring with the Florida Panthers last year. They also have the sons of a couple of Jets 1.0 players, in Josh Doan (Shane) and Jack McBain (Andrew).
Time to take a look at this year’s stats for the two franchises to see how well they match up, then we can review how the potential starting tenders have done in ESPN’s Goaltender Comparison:
Alright, the numbers suggest that our Winnipeg Jets should easily handle the Utah HC when the action gets underway, but with the True Northers coming off an important victory the possibility of a “trap game” seem to be pretty high. Coach Scott Arniel needs to ensure his team is ready to go right from the opening face-off, because locking up the top spot in the Western Conference might just give the Jets the best chance at winning a series in the playoffs.
If you are wondering about that race, as of now, Winnipeg has a 4 point lead over Dallas, but the chasers have a game in hand. That will equal out after this weekend though, as the Stars have a back-to-back matinee situation with games versus the Pittsburgh Penguins (in DAL) and Minnesota Wild (in MIN). If the Jets do their jobs and get a win against Utah, they could really make it very important for the Texans to go 2 for 2.
Okay, lets hear your thoughts about the game in the Comment section. The predictions haven’t been flowing that well recently (possibly a temporary disturbance in the force?), but at least the BOJA Boost started working well again as it aided goalie Eric Comrie to his 2nd shutout of the year in Winnipeg’s last match. Here is hoping it can be equally as successful tonight……enjoy your weekend. 🙂
Go Winnipeg!!!!!!!
