Today we host game III of our game by game predictions for your 2015-2016 Winnipeg Jets. A couple of days ago we posted an article on Islander’s goaltender Jaroslav Halak and how he stacks up against the Jets goaltenders,
But today we examine how the Winnipeg Jets will stack up against the New York Islanders in their entire with game three of the NHL regular season.
During the past season the New York Islanders were 25-14-2 at home while the Winnipeg Jets posted a 20-13-8 road record. It would appear that in this small department the Islanders do in fact have home ice advantage over your Winnipeg Jets.
In goals for per game the Winnipeg Jets ranked 16th with 2.72 and the Islanders ranked 4th with 2.99. In shots per game the Jets ranked 17th with 29.7 and the Islanders ranked 2nd with 33.8. In goals against per game the Jets ranked 20th with 2.49 and the Islanders ranked 8th with 2.73 (better to be lower in this case). In the case of the both major offensive categories the Islanders find themselves coming out atop the Jets. In the case of goals against, however, the Jets come out on top.
Winnipeg Jets
The top scorers for the Jets last season were,
Andrew Ladd going 24-38-62 with a plus/minus of 9
Blake Wheeler going 26-35-61 with a plus/minus of 26
Bryan Little going 24-28-52 with a plus/minus of 8
The top scorers for the Islanders last season were,
John Tavares going 38-48-86 with a plus/minus of 5
Kyle Okposo going 18-33-51 with a plus/minus of -8
Ryan Strome going 17-33-50 with a plus/minus of 23
Here’s the goaltending matchup,
Jaroslav Halak V. Ondrej Pavelec
Last season Halak played in 59 games going 38-17-4 with GAA of 2.43 and save percentage of .914. Last season Pavelec played in 50 games going 22-16-8 with a GAA of 2.28 and save percentage of .920. Halak played in more games then Pavelec last season and turned in a solid postseason performance (as compared to Pavelec) so the cigar would have to go to Halak in this case (by a margin).
So who’s going to win this matchup?
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The Islanders clearly have a superior offense, ranking in the top of the league in most offensive categories. The Jets on the other hand have a much stronger defensive front. The goaltending matchup could go either way, but my bet would be there will not be many saves in this game. It will be an offensive showdown no doubt, the Islanders beat you with their offense not their defense (and it has worked).
The Jets could match their offense as they have players just as strong and capable as the Islanders stars. Also taking into account the strong home ice advantage that the Islanders hold, it would be safe to assume that the score will be high. My prediction? A 6-5 Islanders win. I don’t believe that Pavelec will hold up well against the Islanders offense and while the Jets defense and offense may be good neither can seem tor rival the powerhouse of the Islanders offense.
What do you guys think? Will the Jets fall in this game? Or are the Islanders in for a surprise? Comment below and join in on the discussion!
Next: Jets NHL 16 Player Ratings!
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