The Winnipeg Jets (5-3-2) visit the Minnesota Wild (4-3-2) at the Excel Energy Center for a rematch of last week’s 4-3 Jets victory. The Halloween game’s puck drop is at 6 PM MT.
JETS LINEUP
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers-Bryan Little-Patrik Laine
Brandon Tanev-Andrew Copp-Shawn Matthias
Brendan Lemieux-Matt Hendricks-Marko Dano
Josh Morrissey-Jacob Trouba
Tobias Enstrom-Dustin Byfuglien
Dmitry Kulikov-Tyler Myers
WILD LINEUP
Jason Zucker-Mikko Koivu-Mikael Granlund
Nino Niederreiter-Eric Staal-Luke Kunin
Marcus Foligno-Joel Eriksson Ek-Chris Stewart
Daniel Winnik-Matt Cullen-Tyler Ennis
Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin-Mathew Dumba
Kyle Quincey-Mike Reilly
THE JETS LATELY
The Jets are coming off a 7-1 thrashing of the defending two-time Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins. The night saw a four-point effort from captain Blake Wheeler including a hat trick in the first period.
The game also saw rookie Brendan Lemieux pick up his first career NHL goal in the contest, while Joel Armia, Andrew Copp and Mark Scheifele also tallied.
Rookie Kyle Connor and Shawn Matthias chipped in with a pair of assists.
Connor Hellebuyck continued his strong play with a 31-save performance to improve his record to 5-0-1 on the season.
MATCHUP
The Jets and Wild faced off earlier this season already in a divisional matchup that saw the Jets victorious on the back of Patrik Laine‘s pair of goals, and Blake Wheeler’s game winning goal.
The Wild are coming off a 2-1 victory over the same Penguins that the Jets demolished 7-1. That was the Wild’s second consecutive victory and they now sport a 4-3-2 record.
The Wild are without Zach Parise, Charlie Coyle, and Landon Ferraro, while the Jets are without Mathieu Perreault and Adam Lowry.
Connor Hellebuyck gets the start for the Jets, while the Minnesota Wild will look to backup Alex Stalock.
PREDICTION FOR TONIGHT
Winnipeg is flying high after a strong victory and their offence will continue.
The Wild are beat up but they surprise out of the gate with an early 1-0 lead on the back of an Eric Staal individual effort.
The Jets get fired up in the second period and get three goals from Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, and Andrew Copp.
The third period sees the Wild fire back a pair of goals from Marcus Foligno and Jason Zucker.
With six minutes left in the third period, Brendan Lemieux pursues an aggressive forecheck and gets the puck to the front of the net. After a scramble, veteran Matt Hendricks puts the puck home.
The Jets finish the night with an empty net goal from captain Blake Wheeler to take a 5-3 victory.