Saturday afternoon in Sunrise: Winnipeg Jets vs. Florida Panthers

This afternoon, on the last day of January, the Jets will play their third game of their current four-game road trip. The Jets lost to the Lightning 4-1 on Thursday in Tampa Bay. It was a strong performance from Connor Hellebuyck, who made 33 saves on 36 shots, but the Lightning took a 3-1 in the 2nd period and never looked back. This afternoon the Jets take on the current Stanley Cup champions, who are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games and eight points ahead of a playoff spot. The Panthers are in the middle of a super-close playoff race in the Eastern Conference, while the Jets are still trying to get out of the bottom five of the standings.

The now 29th overall 21-25-7 Winnipeg Jets and the 15th overall 28-22-3 Panthers will face off at Amerant Bank Arena, with these two teams looking for a win to start their weekend. We have now reached the end of the month with the busiest part of the regular season schedule. After this afternoon, the Jets have 2 more games in February before the upcoming 3-week Olympic break.

The Jets and Panthers recently met once this regular season. The season series kicked off nine days ago in Winnipeg, where the Panthers posted a 2-1 shootout victory. These two teams have been fairly evenly matched in their recent games, with the Jets winning six of the last ten. With a win tonight, the Jets would even the season series at 1-1 against this Atlantic Division team trying to claw their way back to a playoff spot.

The injury report for the Winnipeg Jets still has three names: Haydn Fleury has an upper-body injury and is still listed as “week-to-week.” Neal Pionk is still listed as “week-to-week,” but he practiced in a non-contact jersey yesterday. Colin Miller recently had a knee injury and is still considered “week to week.” The Panthers’ injury report is slowly declining, with just four names down from seven when they last played the Jets. Jonah Gadjovich should return during the Olympic break after his upper-body injury, while Seth Jones’ upper-body injury will keep him on long-term injured reserve. Brad Marchand and Anton Lundell are both currently “day-to-day” with unknown injuries.

Jets projected lineup

Connor–Scheifele–Vilardi

Perfetti – Toews – Iafallo

Niederreiter – Lowry – Namestnikov

Koepke-Barron-Pearson

Morrissey-DeMelo

Samberg-Salomonsson

Stanley Schenn

Hellebuyck

Comrie

The unconfirmed starting goalkeeper is Connor Hellebuyck, as Eric Comrie will most likely start one of the last two games before the Olympic break. After Hellebuyck’s most recent start, he now has a record of 13-15-6 with a GAA of 2.71 and an SV% of .902. The Jets’ lineup will remain unchanged from their last match, and it appears they have agreed on a number of combinations that will be used before the Olympic break. As usual, some lineup changes may be announced by the Jets prior to the game, so keep an eye on the Jets official X/Twitter account for any late additions or changes to the lineup before the puck drops.

Panthers projected lineup

Verhaeghe – Rodrigues – Reinhart

Samoskevich – Bennett – Tkachuk

Luostarinen – Schwindt – Marchand* (day by day)

Vilmanis–Kunin–Greer

Forsling – Oak leaf

Mikkola – Balinskis

Björnfot – Petry

Bobrobsky

Tarasov

The Panthers’ lineup is missing a few key players, but still features some underrated gems and some forward lines from their last game against the Jets. Looking at the Panthers’ player stats through 53 games, Sam Reinhart continues to lead the way with 52 points. Sergei Bobrovsky is the unconfirmed starting goalkeeper, who saw Daniil Tarasov get the win against the Jets last week. Bobrovsky remains a very solid starting NHL goaltender alongside Tarasov, and Bobrovsky now has a 20-15-1 record with a 3.08 GAA, 3 shutouts, and an .873 SV%.

Jets player to watch: Josh Morrissey

This afternoon, each team’s player will be a player who will represent Team Canada at the upcoming Winter Olympics. Despite what some may see as a “quieter” season, Josh Morrissey remains one of the elite defensemen in the league. Not enough has been talked about Morrissey’s continued success this season as he continues to offer a fantastic two-way playing style. In 53 games, Morrissey scored 10 goals and 32 assists for 42 points. The group of Jets defensemen wouldn’t be anywhere near the same without Morrissey, who continues to do what makes him great every night.

Panthers player to watch: Sam Reinhart

After a fantastic playoff run last season, Sam Reinhart is once again leading by example in this depth-packed Panthers lineup. Reinhart’s career high goals stand at 57 in 2023-24, and while he may never surpass that total, he is still on pace to achieve another point per competitive season. In 53 games this season, Reinhart has 27 goals and 25 assists for 52 points. The Jets will have to look early and often for Reinhart, who enjoys flashing his scoring skills in a variety of situations.

The Puck Drop in Sunrise, Florida takes place just after 3pm CST. This afternoon’s game is a chance for the Jets to close out the month of January with a win against this Atlantic Division opponent. Stay tuned here to Jets Nation for a recap of the action as the Jets look to defeat the current back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.

PRESENTED BY PRAIRIE TOYOTA DEALERS

This article is sponsored by your Prairie Toyota dealers. JetsNation is for the
fans, by the fans!