Jets keen to cap off road trip with win in D.C.

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This article was published 10/03/2019 (2373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON — The Winnipeg Jets will look to turn a good road trip into a great one as they meet the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals in a battle of first-place clubs.

Winnipeg has posted impressive 5-2 and 8-1 wins in Columbus and Carolina, plus a 5-2 defeat in between against the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. They face another tough opponent in a Washington team that has won six consecutive games.

Connor Hellebuyck starts in goal for the Jets, while the Capitals will give No. 1 netminder Braden Holtby a rest and turn to backup Pheonix Copley in a surprise decision. Winnipeg will roll the same 12 forwards and six defencemen who downed the Hurricanes in convincing fashion Friday night in Raleigh.

“In Carolina, we were good and they had an off night and it ended up being a big score,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said following the morning skate at Capital One Arena.

“If you watch their game (last) night, they got back to their game (defeating the Nashville Predators). We have to get back to the starting point of the Carolina game, not the end point. The cohesiveness now of this (Capitals) team, they’ve played together for a while and have lots of experience on how to play tight games and certainly a skill level on how to find your weaknesses and find your open ice – and they’re patient with it. They have lots of confidence in their offensive game.

“So, get back to Square One for us. We’ve got to defend very well. And we did a real nice job of not overplaying the puck against a team that checks well and knocks pucks now. Washington has a different style of defence, but the idea is the same. If you’re soft with the puck or with the decisions, they will counter very quickly.”

Winnipeg is 40-23-4 and starts the day in first place in the Central Division, one point up on Nashville with three games in hand. The Jets have 15 games left, including tonight, while the Predators have just 12.

Washington is 40-21-7 and leading the Metropolitan Division by two points over the New York Islanders. Forward Alex Ovechkin is one point away from hitting 1,200 in his career.

Following the game, the Jets will fly home and enjoy a day off Monday before kicking off a three-game homestand Tuesday night against another first-place team, the Pacific-leading San Jose Sharks. Visits from Boston and Calgary then follow.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

JETS PROJECTED LINEUP:

GOAL:

Hellebuyck

FORWARD:

Laine-Scheifele-Wheeler

Connor-Hayes-Ehlers

Tanev-Lowry-Little

Roslovic-Copp-Perreault

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DEFENCE:

Beaulieu-Trouba

Kulikov-Myers

Chiarot-Niku

SCRATCHED: Lindholm, Hendricks, Kiselevich

INJURED: Byfuglien, Morrissey, Morrow

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.