Since both the Winnipeg Jets & Seattle Kraken lost on Tuesday night, our team remains 5 points back of the NHL’s Western Conference’s final wildcard spot…though the Los Angeles Kings have now joined the Kraken at 67 points, while the San Jose Sharks & Nashville Predators are just a single point back of that. So while the True Northers have closed the gap to a potential playoff berth…..they have yet to pass any of the clubs in their way.
The Jets’ points streak came to an abrupt end, with a horrible performance against the Anaheim Ducks, so the coaching staff will be looking for a much better effort tonight. In the middle of a long homestand, the Canada Life Centre will host the visiting New York Rangers on Thursday evening, setting up a clash between two of the league’s worst franchises.
Winnipeg (26-27-10) will be entering action on a 1 game losing streak and holding onto the 27th best record in the NHL (62 pts). The Jets have scored 179 goals (tied 24th) and allowed 193 against (tied 11th), while putting up a 47.66% Expected Goals rating at 5 on 5 (-3 goal differential).
New York (26-30-8) have won two in a row, as they outscored the Calgary Flames & Philadelphia Flyers 10 to 2 in those contests. With the league’s 29th best record (60 pts) thanks to 179 Goals For (tied 24th) and 200 Goals Against (tied 16th), the Rangers are putting up a 48.73% Expected Goals rating at 5 on 5 (-6 goal differential).
Here is how the two clubs’ year-to-date stats compare, via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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The morning skates are probably just getting underway, so here are the line up projections for both clubs via PuckPedia based on the most recent games:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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NEW YORK RANGERS LINE UP
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Potentially a big game when it comes to the outcome of the Lottery Draft in June, as a New York victory could tie the clubs in the standings. Oddly, the Rangers have only won 9 games in NYC this season (9-15-6), so they have been a much better team on the road (17-15-2). Winnipeg has been slightly better in Manitoba this year (15-12-5) when compared to their road record (11-15-5).
Once again….running out of time on my morning break, so I will wrap this up now. Hopefully the morning skate will see some line up changes like Ville Heinola taking Haydn Fleury’s spot and possibly Isak Rosen or Brad Lambert getting a look in the top six?? Let me hear what changes to the line up coach Scott Arniel should make over the remaining games in the Comment section.
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE:
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all):
Expected Goals (5on5):
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
This section has been getting shorter and shorter as the Winnipeg Jets’ terrible campaign progresses, but hopefully I will be able to update all the stats and add a few thoughts before I hit the hay tonight.