Well, Tuesday night will give Winnipeg Jets fans a chance to see if the futility of our hockey teams will culminate in a double-digit losing streak. And the NHL schedule isn’t making things easy for the Manitoban franchise, as they’ve sent the Vegas Golden Knights to our city for the final game of the first half of the regular season.
Despite being tied for 13th in the NHL with a record of 17-11-12, Vegas has gone through some struggles of its own. They are without a win in their last five games, part of a 1-5-3 streak for the top team in the Pacific Division. Winnipeg, on the other hand, sits in last place with a miserable 15-21-4 record in 40 games, leaving only the Vancouver Canucks within 5 points of the defending President’s Trophy winning franchise.
Goal scoring was an issue for both clubs, with the Knights ranking 20th in the league with 124 red lights on and the Jets 27th with 115 goals. Defensively, tonight’s teams have each given up 126 goals through 40 games, which puts them tied for 13th in the NHL.
Tonight’s match at the Canada Life Center kicks off at 7pm Central and here’s how the two clubs’ stats compare so far, via ESPN‘S comparison numbers of team and goalkeeper:
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Aside from goaltending, the Golden Knights have the advantage over the True Northers in the images above. The special teams may be where Vegas has the biggest advantage, as both units have struggled for Winnipeg as of late. Not much has gone right for the hometown team this year.
The Jets had new lines at practice yesterday, so we’re assuming these are the lines they’ll use tonight. Here’s how PuckPedia currently predicts which players will line up:
WINNIPEG JETS ALIGNING
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VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS IN A LINE
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The changes for Winnipeg are nothing dramatic Gustav Nyquist returning to the lineup instead Then cabbage and the usual trading of RDs with Colin Molenaar on the way to the press box for take away Luke Schenn’s place for the previous 2 matches.
Because I was in bed sleeping 23 hours a day, I missed the final Jets game, as well as the finish of the World Junior Championship. I recorded the gold medal game, so I plan to eventually look at Winnipeg prospects Alfons Freij & Sascha Boumedienne Help Sweden finish at the top of the tournament. The Jets’ most recent first-round draft pick also happened to score the winning goal, as the Czech Republic nearly came back to force extra time and scored a pair of goals with their tender on the bench. Congratulations team Sweden!! Maybe Winnipeg will get a chance to draft Ivar Stenberg is the upcoming draft to add another Scandinavian to their prospect pool?
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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AFTER-GAME INFO
Score overview: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Vegas Golden Knights 4 Winnipeg Jets 3 (OT)
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Game Statistics: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected goals (all): VEG 3.39 WPG 2.11
Expected goals (5on5): VEG 1.87 WPG 0.78
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BOJA’S thoughts after the game:
The losing streak extends to 10 games after the Winnipeg Jets failed to defend another 2-goal lead. The True Northers did a great job of shutting down Vegas’ attack in the first two periods, but in the final frame the visiting club took control of the match.
Next up on Thursday is the Edmonton Oilers…….can the boys finally win??
#Vegas #Golden #Knights #Winnipeg #Jets