Five games remain until the Olympic break for the
Winnipeg Jets, with four of those contests coming on the road, beginning tonight in Newark against the
New Jersey Devils.
The Jets are coming off an “embarrassing game,” as head coach Scott Arniel described it, against the
Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. The two clubs were tied 1-1 after 40 minutes before Detroit erupted for five goals in the third period to pull away with the win. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves, Cole Koepke (4) scored the Jets’ lone goal, and Winnipeg dropped to 20-24-7.
The Jets will look to respond tonight against a Devils club that struggled through the first half of January but has found its footing in the second half, winning five of its last seven games. New Jersey is coming off a 4-2 loss to the
Seattle Kraken on Sunday in Seattle, however. Jacob Markstrom turned aside 15 shots, while Dougie Hamilton (6) and Jack Hughes (12) scored for the Devils.
Saturday represented a missed opportunity for the Jets to grab two crucial points and stay within the playoff race. Following the loss, defenceman Dylan DeMelo emphasized the urgency of collecting wins down the stretch.
“We got to get points and try to get wins. Obviously, time is of the essence,”
said DeMelo. “We don’t have any leeway at all. We gotta win some games, string them together. But even if we get the next one, we have to focus on the next one and go from there. We’re not going to get into the playoffs just by winning one game.”
The Jets and Devils met just 16 days ago at Canada Life Centre, where Winnipeg squeaked out a 4-3 regulation win. Tonight’s matchup will conclude the season series.
After tonight, the Jets will face an even tougher road ahead, visiting the
Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, the
Florida Panthers on Saturday, and the
Dallas Stars on Monday before returning home to face the
Montreal Canadiens ahead of the break. If the Jets want to keep the playoff conversation alive, they’ll need to string together wins over this final five-game stretch.
Defenceman Isaak Phillips was recalled by the Jets on Monday after the Manitoba Moose played twice over the weekend and is expected to serve as the club’s seventh defenceman on the trip.
Projected lineup:
Connor – Scheifele – Iafallo
Perfetti – Toews – Vilardi
Niederreiter – Lowry – Namestnikov
Koepke – Barron – Pearson
Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Salomonsson
Stanley – Schenn
Hellebuyck
Comrie
Up next:
Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. CST on TSN3.
