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It’s the start of a two-game weekend for the Winnipeg Jets, who face the NHL’s worst team tonight in Chicago, then come back to host an Arizona Coyotes club on Sunday night that has lost 11 straight games.
What could go wrong?
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Well, the Jets likely haven’t forgotten the last time they visited the Windy City back on Dec. 27, when they came out of the Christmas break and fell 2-1 in overtime to the not-so-mighty Blackhawks.
Connor Bedard scored both goals that night for the hosts, just as he was the only one to light the lamp on Dec. 2 when the Jets took the first meeting of the year by a 3-1 score at Canada Life Centre.
In their third head-to-head match-up on Jan 11 in downtown Winnipeg, the Jets rallied with a pair of third-period goals to win 2-1. Another Connor — Murphy, the defenceman — scored for Chicago, as Bedard was out of the lineup having suffered a broken jaw just days earlier.
Gabriel Vilardi celebrates his goal against Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury during the third period in Winnipeg on Tuesday. (Fred Greenslade / The Canadian Press)
Notice a trend? Three games, all extremely low-scoring. The Jets had six in total, and the Blackhawks had four. In other words, if history is truly the best indicator, expect more of the same tonight as they finish off the season series. Bedard is back, with two goals and four assists in the four games since his return. (His team has gone 1-3-0).
The Jets are coming off a much-needed 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, while Chicago fell 3-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday to leave them with a 1-7-1 record in the last nine games.
There was some question as to whether “a nagging injury” might prevent Nikolaj Ehlers from suiting up on Friday, but he declared to members of the media in Chicago that he will be playing tonight.
Jets head coach Rick Bowness wasn’t quite as definite when asked about Ehlers’ status, but said he expects the dynamic winger will be in the lineup as long as he comes back to the rink this afternoon feeling good.
Connor Hellebuyck vs Petr Mrazek is the expected goalie matchup.
Here’s some other information to get you set:
FROM THE PRESS BOX
Mike says: Suddenly up is down, and down is up. The defensively sound Winnipeg Jets, who have been five-on-five monsters for much of this season, are struggling in those departments, while the ice-cold power play that has cost them plenty of points along the way is now picking up the slack in a major way.
The Jets will be looking to get back to that sound structure starting tonight against a team that really is a one-trick pony. Keep that Bedard fellow in check and there’s not a whole lot else on the Blackhawks roster to worry about. Still, the teenage phenom is worth the price of admission and clearly hates to lose, so expect another big performance from him.
Connor Hellebuyck got some extra rest this week; he hasn’t played since Monday afternoon in Calgary, where his incredible 31-game streak of not allowing more than three goals came to a halt. No doubt the Vezina Trophy favourite will be looking to quickly put that tough outing in the rear-view mirror.
The power play has now clicked for six goals over the last three games — two, two and two — which is the first time that’s happened for the Jets since way back in 2012. Incredible.
Running it through Gabe Vilardi, who has been dynamic lately, along with the addition of Sean Monahan in the bumper spot has really changed the look of things and made the Jets so dangerous. The Blackhawks would be wise to be on their best behaviour tonight, since their opponent can suddenly make them pay for their sins.
Chicago Blackhawks centre Connor Bedard has two goals and six points in four games since returning from a broken jaw. (Adam Hunger / The Associated Press files)
Ken says: One of the biggest developments for the Jets in Tuesday’s victory was the two goals produced by the Adam Lowry line, which includes Mason Appleton and Nino Niederreiter. The goals had dried up for that line of late, so being rewarded for all of the other difficult things those guys do is something the Jets really needed.
Lowry has gone 15 games without a goal, but snapped a 10-game drought without a point. Niederreiter has two goals in the past 20 games but he’s been a streaky scorer throughout his career, so maybe that empty-netter gets him going. Appleton has four goals in his past 12 games after his own lengthy goal-scoring slump.
Jets centre Sean Monahan is riding a three-game goal-scoring streak and continues to show his value on virtually every front. His five goals in five games represent only a fraction of what he’s bringing to the table.
“Just to see the goals go in now, everyone is seeing his offence now,” said Appleton. “At first, you saw his faceoffs, the way he can get the puck out of the zone, the way he could win battles, be relied on and from there, his game just grew and now he’s scoring for us. He’s been elite.”
No argument here. The nifty redirection in the high slot from Monahan while falling to the ice was a thing of beauty. The next thing to monitor is to see if the second scoring line can find chemistry that leads to consistent offence, something that both Ehlers (10 games without a goal) and Cole Perfetti (14 games without a goal) are looking to get back to.
Gabriel Vilardi (four goals, eight points in three games) and Kyle Connor (one goal, seven points in three games) are riding heaters, with a lot of that production coming on the power play.
As for the Blackhawks, these are tough times for the team that currently sits last in the NHL. Bedard has two goals and six points in four games since returning from a broken jaw. Philipp Kurashev has been promoted to the top line and has five points during his past five games.
Mrazek has been busy in his two previous outings against the Jets this season, turning aside 63 of 66 shots on goal that he’s faced. Expect him to be busy once again. Despite the poor record, Mrazek has supplied very good goaltending for the Blackhawks this season, including a .909 save percentage in 39 appearances.
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