Winnipeg (15-16-2) opened the trip in St. Louis, Missouri, where their two-game losing streak was snapped in a 1-0 loss to Manitoban goaltender Joel Hofer and the Blues. Justin Faulk scored the lone goal at the 13:17 mark of the second period, his eighth of the season. Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves in the loss, while the Jets went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill and 0-for-2 on the power play.
The Avalanche (24-2-7) enter the matchup on a three-game win streak and a six-game winning streak, marking a 5-3 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday evening. Nathan MacKinnon recorded three points (2G, 1A), while Martin Necas added two assists. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 shots to earn his 10th win of the season.
Only two teams have defeated the Avalanche at Ball Arena this season, the Dallas stars and the Carolina Hurricanesboth in 5-4 shootout decisions in November, adding to the challenge for the Jets as no team has defeated Colorado in regulation on home ice. Winnipeg and Colorado will meet three more times after tonight, with all remaining games taking place in March: March 14 and 26 in Winnipeg, followed by March 28 in Denver.
I think the Jets should be in full panic mode right now as nothing has worked since early November. Since their 3-0 defeat against the LA Kings as of Nov. 4, Winnipeg is just 6-13-2, an unacceptable stretch for this group. Even when the Jets put in a strong performance, like Saturday’s 5-1 win over the Washington Capitals in perhaps their best game of the season, they failed to build on that. Two nights later against the Ottawa Senatorsthey took a 2-1 lead late in the third period and were fortunate to escape with a point before going down 3-2 in extra time.
Fouling also remains a major problem. Wednesday in St. Louis was a bad night for the top line, and the result was no goals on the board. Hellebuyck was the only reason the game remained close, as it could easily have been 4-0. Expectations are low for tonight’s game against an Avalanche team that has lost just two regular-season games all season, while the Jets continue to struggle and rely heavily on Hellebuyck to keep them competitive.
Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM CST on TSN3 for those interested in tuning in.
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