Two teams struggling to stay in the playoff race face off for a crucial two points when the Dallas Stars visit the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
The two teams have met four times already this season, with the Jets coming out on top three of the four games. The Jets and Stars have combined for 27 goals over the four games and we can probably expect another high scoring game. Since Dec. 29, the Jets have allowed 79 goals in 21 games, the most in the NHL. The only other team with more than 70 during that time is the Stars, who have allowed 73 in their past 21 games.
Before losing their past two games against Central Division opponents, the Jets were 6-0-0 against their own division at home.
Goaltending has been an issue for both teams. The Stars have been riding Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi, who have a .902 and .901 save percentage, respectively. Lehtonen is ranked 38th in the league of goalies who have played 20 or more games. Niemi is ranked 40th.
The Jets goaltending hasn’t been much better. Connor Hellebuyck has a .909 save percentage which ranks him 31st using the same criteria. It was bad enough that the Jets called Ondrej Pavelec up. He has a .888 save percentage in the eight games he has played.
Dallas Stars at Winnipeg Jets
MTS Centre – 7:00 p.m. CST
Broadcast channels – TSN3, FS-SW
2016-17 Season Series: Oct. 25 – Winnipeg (2) at Dallas (3)
Oct. 27 – Dallas (1) at Winnipeg (4)
Nov. 8 – Dallas (2) at Winnipeg (8)
Feb. 2 – Winnipeg (4) at Dallas (3)
Winnipeg Jets – 25-29-4 – 54 Points
Home Record: 13-14-1
Hot Players: Jacob Trouba
Key Injuries: Tyler Myers, Marco Dano, Ondrej Pavelec, Tobias Enstrom
Projected Lines:
Forwards
Ehlers-Little-Wheeler
Copp-Scheifele-Laine
Matthias-Lowry-Armia
Perreault-Petan-Stafford
Defense
Chiarot-Byfuglien
Morrissey-Trouba
Stuart-Postma
Starting Goaltender
Hellebuyck
Dallas Stars – 22-25-10 – 54 Points
Away Record: 7-16-4
Hot Players: Jamie Benn
Key Injuries: Jason Spezza, Johnny Oduya, Ales Hemsky, Mattias Janmark
Projected Lines:
Forwards
Benn-Eakin-Eaves
Roussel-Faksa-Seguin
Korpikoski-Shore-Sharp
McKenzie-Cracknell-Ritchie
Defense
Lindell-Klingberg
Hamhuis-Benn
Oleksiak-Johns
Starting Goaltender
Lehtonen
Game Notes
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]1)[/miptheme_dropcap] Patrik Laine needs to get back on the scoreboard and this might be just the game he needs. In the four games he has played against the Stars, Laine has five goals and nine points, including a hat trick back on Nov. 8 during an 8-2 win. Mark Scheifele has also enjoyed playing the Stars. He has 14 points in a seven-game point streak against Dallas.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]2)[/miptheme_dropcap] Jacob Trouba has been nothing short of perfect for the Jets this season. In 43 games, he has already surpassed the 21 points he put up last season over 81 games. Trouba is currently on a three-game point streak, with points in six of his past seven home games. On the defensive side, he has 24 takeaways, just seven from his career-high of 31 in his rookie season. And over the past two weeks, his SAT percentage is third on the team at 53.55 percent.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]3)[/miptheme_dropcap] On the Stars side, Tyler Seguin and John Klingberg have enjoyed battling the Jets. Seguin has 10 points in nine games over the past two years against the Jets, while Klingberg is even better. He has scored 12 points in nine games over the past two years. Winnipeg’s own Patrik Sharp has also enjoyed playing his hometown team, with six points in six games, but the Stars’ other Winnipegger, Cody Eakin, hasn’t had the game luck, with just one point in six contests.
Catch the game tonight at 7:00 PM local time, and comment below with your predictions for the final score.
