I know I’m getting tired of these back-to-back late start times for the Winnipeg Jets… but they still have two more to go. The first of these will take place tonight at Climate Pledge Arena in Washington State when our Jets take on the Kraken, followed shortly by the final game of the road trip on Saturday in Calgary to clash with the Flames.
It will be the second meeting of the season for the Winnipeg Jets (10-6-0) and the Seattle Kraken (7-4-5) and unfortunately our club still hasn’t scored a goal against the Sea Monsters (came to a standstill 3-0 at the end of October). The Kraken are just 4 points clear of the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks and if only they had a little more success in OT/SO that gap would be smaller. Although the opponent’s offense is not very impressive tonight, as their 40 goals scored rank them 31st in the NHL, over 28 goals behind the league leaders Colorado Avalanche. However, when you step on the ice against this year’s version of Seattle, you better be prepared to fight tooth and nail. The Kraken have already been involved in ten one-goal matches this season (62.5% of grams) and have allowed the 7th fewest goals conceded. So Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel Better prepare the Jets for maximum energy output when the puck drops. The fact that the American franchise canceled their last two games (Losing 2-1 for DAL/CLM) should make them even hungrier.
Winnipeg recently snapped a three-game losing streak against the Vancouver Canucks and will look to build on the momentum it has gained. The recent results of an injury by Adam Lowry & Cole Perfetti seemed to pay off with perhaps the best offensive performance of the year for the Jets… and the club is hoping for more reinforcements with a potential return of Dylan Samberg & Gustav Nyquist. The True Northers should get a huge defensive boost if the big American defender can make his season debut, as Samberg has shown he can keep opposition snipers at bay. As I mentioned in the previous article, Nyquist has also had a positive impact on Winnipeg’s performance when he is in the lineup, so it will be great to get him back after missing five games. Our franchise is right in the middle of the NHL in terms of goals (shared 16th), but thanks to the great play of the Jets goalies, they have conceded the third fewest goals.
To continue our comparison of Winnipeg and Seattle, here’s how ESPN has the team and goaltender comparison numbers for tonight’s late night game (another 9 p.m. Central start):
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Most of the above numbers are fairly comparable, although our Jets have significant advantages in scoring goals and killing penalties. Judging from the data, I seriously doubt that the tenders will have to deal with tons of rubber coming their way. Another sign pointing to an exciting match when the teams meet later tonight.
The “morning” Skate won’t take place until 1:30 PM Central, so we’ll have to rely on how PuckPedia predicts the lines for both teams at this point. Although I seriously hope Samberg & Nyquist will be back for the Jets….
WINNIPEG JETS ALIGNING
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VANCOUVER CANUCKS LINEUP
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While Winnipeg is hoping for some players to return from injury, Seattle is also hoping for their best-performing goaltender this season, Joey Daccordcan return in time for tonight’s game.
The Kraken’s top scorers have 11 points this year, with Jaden Schwartz & Jordan Eberle directing the load. To illustrate how low-scoring Seattle is, the Jets have 5 skaters with at least as much offense: Nino Niederreiter (11), Gabriel Vilardi (14), Josh Morrissey (16), Kyle Connor (19), & Mark Scheifele (21).
Go to Winnipeg!!!!!
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AFTER-GAME INFO
The ESPN and MoneyPuck information will be added shortly after the game…although changes are typically made to the advanced stats overnight, so I’ll post the old data Friday morning if the numbers change.
Score overview: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE:
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Game Statistics: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected goals (all):
Expected goals (5on5):
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I’ll let you know what I thought of the Jets-Kraken game Friday morning…hopefully posted before 9am.
BOJA’S thoughts after the game:
#Winnipeg #Jets #Seattle #Kraken