Winnipeg Jets at Seattle Kraken

With a six-pack of victories already secured, the Winnipeg Jets will attempt to improve to 3-0 on the road as they continue this three-game trip on Thursday night against the Seattle Kraken.

The Jets won a third one-goal game against a Central Division opponent on Tuesday, exploding for three goals in the second period to defeat the St. Louis Blues, while the Kraken dropped a 3-2 decision to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

Connor Hellebuyck is set to make his sixth start of the season and the Kraken will counter with Joey Daccord.

“One area that really jumps out from looking at their games and checking the analytical side of things, they’re defending (well),” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel.

“With their D-zone coverage, they do a really good job. They don’t give you a lot of room. They’re quick to close and they try to outnumber (the opponent). It will be a test for us to get to the inside.”

Hellebuyck has once again been brilliant to start the campaign and he made a subtle left pad save in the waning seconds of the contest on Tuesday to ensure the Jets stayed undefeated.

Jets forward Cole Perfetti has heated up nicely after a slow offensive start, chipping in three helpers on Tuesday to move him to two goals and seven points in six games.

The Jets aren’t making any changes to the lineup, which means Rasmus Kupari stays in as the fourth-line centre and Logan Stanley plays a third consecutive game on the third pair with Colin Miller, who has a goal and two assists during his past two games.

The Kraken replaced coach Dave Hakstol with former Jets 1.0 forward Dan Bylsma and added a couple of important free agents this summer in defenceman Brandon Montour and centre Chandler Stephenson.

“When I look at Seattle’s roster and the adds they made over the offseason, Montour really comes in and solidifies their back end and Chandler Stephenson is a quality centre who brings a lot of speed,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry.

“It really just stretches their depth throughout the lineup. They’re a team that can roll four lines and they’re comfortable playing any of those four lines against any line — they’re a lot like our team.”

Jordan Eberle was named the second captain in franchise history and leads the Kraken with five goals, while Jared McCann leads them in points with nine and recently became the first player to score 100 goals for the Kraken.

Here’s some other information to get you set for puck drop.

—Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe

FROM THE PRESS BOX

MIKE SAYS: It’s not that Gabe Vilardi is playing poorly. It’s just that we haven’t seen him yet get to the level we know he’s capable of.

While linemates Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor share the team scoring lead with five goals each, Vilardi is still searching for his first of the new season.

Sure, he has three assists, and his mere presence on the potent power play is opening up other options that the Jets have taken advantage of.

Of course, you have to shoot the puck to score, and Vilardi hasn’t done much of that so far with just five pucks on opposing goaltenders.

Only three regulars – Vlad Namestnikov, Alex Iafallo and Dylan DeMelo – have fewer, which is rather surprising.

I don’t expect that to last, and you have to think a breakout game is coming soon for the 25-year-old who has shown that he can get hot in a hurry, as proven by his 22 goals in just 47 games with Winnipeg last season.

I fully believe he’s capable of being a 40-goal scorer in this league, but he’s going to have to pick up the pace to achieve that this year.

Perhaps some pre-game Starbucks tonight in the city where I’m pretty sure it flows from the taps is the fuel he needs to break out of a sleepy offensive start.

KEN SAYS: Nino Niederreiter has scored goals in consecutive games and given his ability to go on hot streaks over the course of his career, that’s a welcome development for the Jets.

After scoring an empty-netter on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Niederreiter went to his office in front of the blue paint and redirected a Neal Pionk point shot for a power-play marker to give the Jets a lead over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday that they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Jets continue to lead the NHL in power play efficiency (44.4 percent) and with both units scoring with the man-advantage, that will make them more difficult to defend.

I’m intrigued to see how the new faces are fitting in with the Kraken and Andre Burakovsky is someone I watched closely during the Colorado Avalanche championship run. When healthy, he can be a force.

Another player of interest is Shane Wright, the fourth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Having Bylsma as his coach previously with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL should help ease the transition.

Lots have been said and written about Wright since he fell from the expected No. 1 slot to the Kraken at four, but if he can grow into a top-six contributor this season for the Kraken, that will provide a big boost.

He’s got one goal and two points in six games after producing 22 goals and 47 points in 59 games for the Firebirds last season before adding four goals and 13 points in 12 Calder Cup playoff games as his team reached the final.

PROJECTED LINES

WINNIPEG JETS

FORWARDS:

Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Kupari-Iafallo

DEFENCE:

Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Miller

GOAL:

Hellebuyck
Comrie

Healthy scratches: D Coghlan, D Fleury, F Gustafsson

Injured: D Heinola (ankle), F Anderson-Dolan (foot)

SEATTLE KRAKEN

FORWARDS:

McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand
Schwartz-Stephenson-Tanev
Kartye-Wright- Burakovsky

DEFENCE:

Oleksiak-Montour
Evans-Larsson
Mahura-Borgen

GOAL:

Daccord
Grubauer

Healthy scratches: D C Fleury

Injured: D Dunn (upper body).

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

Jets captain Adam Lowry on what he’s expecting from the Kraken:

“They have a lot of speed. That’s one thing, that when you’re playing them, you’ve got to be ready for. They’re fast, they forecheck, they move the puck quickly and they have guys that like to get to the net and make quick plays off the cycle.

“It’s important that you’re sharp defensively, your reads are good and you deny the slot areas and the areas that their shooters like to be.”

WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON

Ken is on this three-game road trip and is writing his pre-game piece on how Vladislav Namestnikov is handling life on the second scoring line. You can check that story out at winnipegfreepress.com later tonight and in Friday’s print edition.

With the late puck drop tonight, the game analysis will run online only.

Lastly, the monthly mailbag is open for a few more days, so send in your Jets questions at your convenience. Just reply to this email to ask a question!