What a busy Saturday for me today!! There are so many things I want to do, but not enough time to fit it all in. Of course, sports plays a big part in that, with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers facing the Montreal Alouettes at 1 p.m. (Central), the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets clash with the Pittsburgh Penguins at 2 p.m., and then the Toronto Blue Jays look to win Game 7 of the MLB World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at 7 p.m. And if that’s not enough to have on tap… I also have to attend my cousin’s wedding at 3:30 PM.
Turning our focus to today’s True Northers match against the visiting Penguins, fans at the Canada Life Center will be treated to a match-up between two of the league’s most popular franchises. Pittsburgh (8-2-2) has surprised a lot of people with their start to the campaign as they look to bounce back from missing last year’s postseason. Despite having some key players sidelined with injuries, Winnipeg (8-3-0) has managed to stay near the top of the NHL standings thanks to an easy schedule early on. Here are the best franchises to start the year, courtesy of ESPN:
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From the standings we can see that the Jets & Penguins have had a very similar start to this year… but the underlying team and goaltending data from ESPN are also very similar:
MATCH-UP STATISTICS
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As we can see above, the two hockey teams’ stats are almost identical across the board in the Team Stats graph. The goals scored/allowed, shots taken/given up, penalty minutes received so far, and power play numbers are all very close together. The only difference is a small gap between Winnipeg’s penalty kill (91.1%) and Pittsburgh (81.6%). The commonality continues in the next image when you look at the masked men, as all four goaltenders flirt with +.920 save percentages and have similar goals against averages.
And to continue that same theme, the Jets & Penguins’ biggest stars put up nearly identical numbers:
Mark Scheifele (9G/9A/18 PTS) vs Evgeni Malkin (3G/14A/17 PTS)
Kyle Connor (6G/9A/15PTS) vs Sidney Crosby (8G/7A/15PTS)
As a result of all this, you could probably assume that today’s match should be a fairly even battle. Both clubs are posting wins at a higher rate than expected based on their performances to date, with the Penguins boasting a 47.35% expected goals% rate from 5 out of 5 (23rd in the NHL) and the Jets with 43.63% (31st in the NHL). Those aren’t the numbers that elite teams have put up… so both rosters are still searching for their optimal performances.
Due to the early afternoon start of the Jets/Penguins game, there will be no pre-game skate to verify lineups. So let’s see how PuckPedia predicts the lines for both teams based on yesterday’s practices:
WINNIPEG JETS ALIGNING
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THE PENGUINS OF PITTSBURGH ARE IN A FRAME
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With the injury on Gustav Nyquist and the fact that Adam Lowry isn’t quite ready to return yet, rookie Brad Lambert will get another chance at the big league level. It is also expected that backup goalkeeper Erik Comrie gets his third start of the year, while former Manitoba Moose goaltender Arthur Silov will be between the pipes for the opposition. Manitoba-born defenseman Owen Pickering will also be playing in his hometown in the province and that should see a lot of people coming from St. Adolphe to see him in action at the CLC.
Well, that’s about all I have time for before I get ready for my hectic Saturday. Enjoy the weekend everyone.
Go to Winnipeg!!!!!
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AFTER-GAME INFO
Score overview: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Winnipeg Jets 5 Pittsburgh penguins 2
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Game Statistics: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected goals (all): WPG 4.33 PIT 3.75
Expected goals (5on5): WPG 3.44 PIT 2.93
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Since I only got to watch the opening period, my insights probably aren’t worth much for the Jets-Penguins game. I saw Winnipeg explode early with goals from Gabriel Vilardi & Brad Lambert and it seems like our team kept everything running after that.
The statistics say Erik Comrie (+1.72 GSAE & 0.933 sv%)) had another quality start in relief of Connor Hellebuyckwhile the front lines of Alex Iafallo, Jonathan Toews& Vladislav Namestnikov (72.1%xG) And Tanner Pearson, Morgan Barron& Nino Niederreiter (70.9%xG) turned out to be fantastic trips. On the defensive side, the duo of Logan Stanley & Neal Pionk were apparently incredible against Pittsburgh, with an xG of 73.9% at 5-on-5.
I saw some comments saying they thought it was Brad Lamberts best performance of the season, but the numbers don’t quite support that view. The rookie had the 10th most xGs among the Jets forwards, but he outscored his linemates, so he was at least the most dangerous player on the 4th line, even if they lost shots/scoring opportunities 8 to 3. Either way, it was great to see the kid score his first NHL goal and I hope he can build on that.
Feel free to share your thoughts on the game in the comments section so I can get a better idea of who stood out on Saturday.
#Pittsburgh #Penguins #Winnipeg #Jets