The Winnipeg Jets are getting thrown to the wolves after their five-day break as they welcome the conference-leading Minnesota Wild to town.
The Jets are coming off their mandatory five-day break after going 2-0-2 on their four-game road trip before the vacation. The team has points in five straight games for just the second time this season, but they will have to do it without Jacob Trouba, while he sits out the second of his two-game suspension.
The Wild are playing back-to-back after their five-day break. They defeated the Los Angeles Kings last night and are looking for their fourth win of the season against the Jets. Zach Parise and Jason Pominville will not be in the lineup for the Wild, out with the mumps.
Minnesota Wild at Winnipeg Jets
MTS Centre – 7:00 p.m. CST
Broadcast channels – TSN3, FS-N
2016-17 Season Series: Oct. 15 – Winnipeg (3) at Minnesota (4)
Nov. 23 – Winnipeg (1) at Minnesota (3)
Feb. 7 – Minnesota (4) at Winnipeg (2)
Winnipeg Jets – 28-29-6 – 62 Points
Home Record: 14-14-1
Hot Players: Dustin Byfuglien, Patrik Laine, Mathieu Perreault
Key Injuries: Tyler Myers, Marco Dano, Ondrej Pavelec
Projected Lines:
Forwards
Ehlers-Little-Wheeler
Perreault-Scheifele-Laine
Matthias-Lowry-Armia
Stafford-Petan-Thorburn
Defense
Enstrom-Byfuglien
Morrissey-Chiarot
Stuart-Postma
Starting Goaltender
Hellebuyck (expected)
[irp]
Minnesota Wild – 40-14-6 – 86 Points
Away Record: 18-6-5
Hot Players: Mikael Granlund
Key Injuries: Victor Bartley, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville
Projected Lines:
Forwards
Zucker-Koivu-Granlund
Haula-Hanzal-Coyle
Niederreiter-Staal-White
Stewart-Graovac-Schroeder
Defense
Suter-Spurgeon
Olofsson-Brodin
Scandella-Dumba
Starting Goaltender
Kuemper (expected)
Game Notes
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]1)[/miptheme_dropcap] The Jets begin a six-game home stand after their five-day break. Even with the break, the team is still tied for the most games played in the league. Even though they haven’t beat the Wild over the last four meetings, they remain 14-7-1 against the Central Division this year.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]2)[/miptheme_dropcap] The Wild added Martin Hanzal and Ryan White, and Minnesota fans got to see them play last night when the took on the Kings. White made an immediate impact with a goal and an assist. The Wild will need them to step up immediately without Parise and Pominville in the lineup.
White: "Definitely a whirlwind 24 hours." #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 28, 2017
The Wild have been clicking all season and last night marked win number 40, making this the seventh time in franchise history the team has finished with 40 or more wins.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]3)[/miptheme_dropcap] It doesn’t seem to matter what game it is, we always end up talking about Laine. He became the first rookie to hit 30 goals this season when he scored two against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Tuesday. He also became the first second-overall pick to exceed 50 points in his rookie season since Gabriel Landeskog had 52 in the 2011-12 season. Laine now has a chance to make history, needing 21 points in his last 19 games to pass Jarri Kurri for the second-most points in a season by a Finnish rookie, behind only the original Finnish Flash himself, Teemu Selanne.
Catch the game tonight at 7:00 PM local time, and comment below with your predictions for the final score.