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Original Six Week continues tonight at Canada Life Centre as the Detroit Red Wings pay their annual visit. They’ll be looking to snap a three-game losing streak, when they fired just four goals during that span.
Standing in their way is a Winnipeg team that will be trying to bounce back after a 3-2 overtime loss on Monday night to the Montreal Canadiens. The Jets rallied from a 2-0 deficit to salvage a point but weren’t happy with their overall play. However, they’re still 6-1-1 in the past eight games and have now gone 20 games without surrendering more than three goals, which is a franchise record.
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Jets coach Rick Bowness expects a tough battle on tap.
“Well, a little bit more depth up front with Patrick (Kane) in there. He’s still an elite player. Gives them a lot of good options,” Bowness said this morning of the future hall-of-famer, who has a goal and three assists in his first seven games with the Red Wings.
“They got a lot of skill and speed up front. They’re tough to defend because of that. He gives them a whole different dimension both 5-on-5 and on the power play. We’ve got nothing but respect for their skill level. Their coaches have done a great job. That’s a team that’s really on the move forward. Stevie (Yzerman has) done a great job building that franchise up. It’s a franchise that’s moving forward.”
This is the second and final regular-season meeting of the year between the clubs. Winnipeg beat Detroit 4-1 on Oct. 26 in the Motor City.
Laurent Brossoit gets the start in net for the Jets, while the Red Wings go with Manitoba product James Reimer in this nationally televised affair.
Here’s some additional information to get you set for puck drop:
FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: It was great to catch up this morning with former Jets Andrew Copp and Ben Chiarot, who are both alternate captains with a rebuilding Red Wings club that, despite some recent stumbles, has taken a significant step forward this season.
Can the Jets give Brossoit a bit of run support tonight? They managed just one goal (on 42 shots) last week in San Jose during a tough 2-1 loss, continuing a bit of a recent trend when it comes to their backup netminder. After scoring 17 times in Brossoit’s first four outings, Winnipeg has only lit the lamp five times in his last three.
Colour me surprised by the attendance figures so far on this homestand, which I figured might surge given how the Jets have been playing and who they were facing. But there were plenty of seats available on Saturday against Colorado (13,515 crowd count) and Monday against Montreal (13,363). We’ll see if a date with Detroit and Friday’s pre-holiday finale against Boston leads to a box office boost.
KEN SAYS: Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi is riding a remarkable hot streak, chipping in five goals and eight points during his past five games to get him to 10 points in 12 games on the season. He’ll continue to try to ride the wave along with linemates Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers.
Gabe Vilardi (right) is enjoying a hot streak on the ice these days, but can he keep it going tonight against Detroit? (Alex Gallardo / The Associated Press files)
Much of the talk the past several days revolved around the struggling power play and the personnel changes Bowness hinted at earlier in the week, with Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti possibly trading places. We’ll see what impact that has on a group that’s gone 1-for-21 (with the goal coming from the second unit).
Perfetti snapped a six-game stretch without a point by notching his 10th goal of the campaign on Monday, becoming the fourth member of the Jets to reach double digits through the first 30 games (the injured Kyle Connor, Scheifele and Ehlers are the others).
For Detroit, Copp has recorded an assist in three of the past four games and is up to five goals and 15 points in 31 games this season and he’ll be on a line tonight with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat, who leads the Red Wings in both goals (15) and points (28) in 31 games this season.
DeBrincat has been limited to three goals and nine points in 20 career games against the Jets, dating back to his time in the Central Division with the Chicago Blackhawks.
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