Time: 6:30 PM CST
Channel: Sportsnet West
Radio: CJOB680
The Winnipeg Jets and Carolina Hurricanes are playing tonight in Winnipeg for the only time this season. The Hurricanes have been having a tougher time than expected this season after being consistently strong for a few seasons now. It is possible they will turn it around, but it is December 4 and they are third in the Wild Card ranking. The Jets are currently second in the Central Division and have won their most recent game.
The Jets stopped a three game losing streak against the Chicago Blackhawks in a game that they really needed to win. With them being back on track, they can focus on chasing down the Colorado Avalanche for first in the division. To do that, they will need to go on a winning streak prior to Christmas.
The Hurricanes are also going to be looking to turn their season around and are probably already in a place of needing to win a few games in a row. It will not be easy for them as the Jets have been on a roll for the most part. They do have all the pieces to be a good team though and the Jets will have to be on guard against them to ensure that those pieces cannot get going against them.
They will have to be especially careful if Brendan Lemieux plays because he has a history of not being the cleanest player including in his time with the Jets. There is also two Manitobans on the Hurricanes, Jordan Martinook and Seth Jarvis, who will be looking to disappoint the home fans. As previously stated, this could be a task for the Hurricanes based on their play this season.
The Jets are looking to ensure their winning ways do not stop at one game and one way they might look at doing that is moving Gabe Vilardi back to his old spot with Mark Scheifele and swapping him with Nikolaj Ehlers. It would help maximize the results of the Jets team and lean on the strengths of different players instead of leaving one line swimming up the creek without a paddle. They can simply revert back to their old lines from before Vilardi was injured. This would mean technically demoting Ehlers, but as long as he gets top-six minutes this blog will not complain.
