The NHL season has reached its midpoint, and the Winnipeg Jets are struggling, currently ranked last overall in the league. Their position is compounded by an ongoing winless streak of nine games (0-6-3), which includes four consecutive losses. Following a promising spell of form where they went 9-3-0, the Jets’ recent record has been concerning at 6-18-4, leaving them 11 points behind the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
In terms of personnel, the Jets will be without defenseman Logan Stanley, who is serving a one-game suspension for a punch delivered to Brady Tkachuk over the weekend. In practice leading up to tonight’s game, it was indicated that Gustav Nyquist would return to the lineup, while Cole Koepke is expected to sit out. The defensive pairings are also shifting, with Haydn Fleury and Luke Schenn forming the third pairing alongside Colin Miller, who will not play.
Conversely, the Vegas Golden Knights are sitting at the top of the Pacific Division, though their lead is not as solid as it seems, as they share the same number of regulation wins with the Jets—Vegas has secured 46 points largely due to their 12 overtime and shootout losses, which, paradoxically, would position them fourth in the Central Division, trailing by 12 points from the third place.
Both teams are currently facing challenges; Vegas has not been in peak form either, compiling a 2-5-3 record in their last ten outings. On special teams, the Golden Knights excel with the NHL’s seventh-best power play and tenth-best penalty kill, while the Jets find themselves slipping, ranked 17th in power play efficiency and 21st in penalty kill effectiveness.
During morning skate ahead of tonight’s match, all players were reported as present. The expected lineup for the Jets features:
Connor – Scheifele – Iafallo
Perfetti – Toews – Vilardi
Barron – Lowry – Niederreiter
Pearson – Namestnikov – Nyquist
The defensive pairings include:
Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Pionk
Fleury – Schenn
Hellebuyck in goal.
For the Golden Knights, projected lines are as follows:
Barbashev – Eichel – Stone
Marner – Hertl – Dorofeyev
Saad – Howden – Holtz
Reinhardt – Sissons – Kolesar
With their defensive pairings being:
Hanifin – Hutton
Lauzon – Korczak
Megna – Whitecloud
Schmid in net.
Key discussion points from player media availability include preparation for the Golden Knights, the decision to pair Vilardi with Toews, insights into Stanley’s suspension, adjustments in line combinations, and the potential impact of individual player struggles on team dynamics.
Betting odds suggest this matchup is a closely contested affair, with neither team holding a distinct advantage. Anticipation surrounds this evening’s game, with action set to start at 7 PM CST. Fans can tune into illegalcurve.com for a recap post-game and join the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show on their YouTube channel at around 9:40 PM CST for further analysis of tonight’s matchup.