After brief holiday, Jets hope to go 3-0 against Hawks this season

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This article was published 27/12/2016 (3562 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CHICAGO – After four days away from the rink, the Winnipeg Jets return from the holiday break to play the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at the United Center (7:30 p.m., TSN3, TSN1290).

The Jets (16-17-3) had found a bit of a groove before the brief vacation, winning three of their last four games, including victories over Florida, Colorado and Vancouver, who they also lost to in a pair of consecutive road games last week. But with three points separating them from the final playoff wild card spot in the West, Winnipeg can’t afford to face another setback, especially against a divisional foe like Chicago.

“Simple and fast,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice to reporters when asked what he expected from his team after a lengthy break. ”Both teams in the same position — haven’t played in a few days. That’s an unusual routine for everybody. Just try not to be too creative too early.”

Of course, the Jets aren’t the first team to return to action after Christmas without so much as a single practice under their belts. They know they have a job to do come puck drop.

“There’s no excuses – half the teams are doing the same thing we’re doing today,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler told reporters. “You just have to come prepared.”

Rusty or not, the Jets will have their hands full against a Blackhawks (22-9-5) team that sits atop the Central Division with 49 points. They have stumbled of late, however, losing consecutive games to Ottawa and then Colorado in a shootout. Prior to those tilts, the Blackhawks won five straight, and had earned points in 11 of their previous 13 games (9-2-2). They’ll also have an added boost to their offence with forward Artem Anisimov returning after close to two weeks from an upper-body injury.

But as good as the Blackhawks have been, the Jets have had their number this year. Winnipeg defeated Chicago, 2-1, in their most recent match on Dec. 4 at the United Center, a performance that followed up a 4-0 shutout on home ice in mid-November.

“We’ve been willing to skate; made them play ugly,” Wheeler said of the Jets success agaisnt Chicago this year. “The game here certainly wasn’t a pretty game but we were comfortable playing that game and stayed with it for 60 minutes and made it tough for them.”

Connor Hellebuyck was in net for both of those games, stopping 51 of 52 shots between the two contests, and will once again earn the start tonight. Hellebuyck, 23, has earned a considerable share of the starts this season — 26 compared to 12 for backup Michael Hutchinson — but Maurice has reverted back to a rotating system recently, with Hutchinson earning the nod in four of the past 10 games.

“Connor played very well in his two games against Chicago and…didn’t want to leave a guy out for a long block – four days,” said Maurice. “But really liked Michael’s game in Vancouver (last week); I liked his compete, he was sharp and very energetic in the net, so, we’ll see him soon again.”

Chicago will counter with Corey Crawford in net. It will be just the second game for Crawford since returning from an appendectomy that forced him to miss 10 games, including the game against the Jets earlier this month. Crawford looked stellar in his return despite earning a 2-1 loss in overtime to the Avalanche, making 32 saves to preserve a point.

Projected lineups

Winnipeg Jets

Forwards

Nikolaj Ehlers – Mark Scheifele – Patrik Laine

Mathieu Perreault – Bryan Little – Blake Wheeler

Shawn Matthias – Adam Lowry – Joel Armia

Marko Dano – Nic Petan – Drew Stafford

Defence

Josh Morrissey – Dustin Byfuglien

Toby Enstrom – Jacob Trouba

Ben Chiarot – Paul Postma

Goaltenders

Connor Hellebuyck

Michael Hutchinson

 

Chicago Blackhawks

Forwards

Artemi Panarin – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane

Ryan Hartman –Jonathan Toews – Vince Hinostroza

Denis Rasmussen – Marcus Kruger – Richard Panik

Andrew Desjardins – Tanner Kero – Tyler Motte

Defence

Duncan Keith – Niklas Hjalmarsson

Brian Campbell – Brent Seabrook

Gustav Forsling – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Goaltenders

Corey Crawford

Scott Darling

 

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton