The Winnipeg Jets (8-3-3) fly to Viva Las Vegas for the historic first match against the NHL’s newest franchise the Golden Knights (9-5-1). Puck drop is 9:30 pm for the locals as the game will be played at T-Mobile Arena.
JETS LINEUP
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers-Bryan Little-Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp-Adam Lowry-Brandon Tanev
Shawn Matthias-Matt Hendricks-Joel Armia
Josh Morrissey-Jacob Trouba
Toby Enstrom-Dustin Byfuglien
Dmitry Kulikov-Tyler Myers
GOLDEN KNIGHTS LINEUP
Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith
David Perron-Erik Haula-James Neal
Oscar Lindberg-Cody Eakin-Alex Tuch
William Carrier-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Tomas Nosek
Nate Schmidt-Luca Sbisa
Brayden McNabb-Deryk Engelland
Colin Miller-Brad Hunt
THE JETS LATELY
The Jets have not been in action since last Monday when they defeated the Dallas Stars for the second time this season by a score of 4-1. That got them back in the win column following a 5-4 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
Blake Wheeler led the way with a four-assist performance (Wheeler now has an amazing 13 points in the last five games), while Mark Scheifele chipped in two goals and an assist. Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor also tallied for the Jets.
Once again, Connor Hellebuyck remains undefeated in regulation as he stopped 33 shots to improve his record to 8-0-2. Hellebuyck now has an outstanding 2.12 GAA and .936 save percentage. He ranks third in GAA, and second in save percentage throughout the league.
MATCHUP
This is not only the first battle of the season between the two teams, but it is also the first battle in history.
The Golden Knights are starting to see the wheels fall off as they have lost five of their last six games, including consecutive losses to the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Golden Knights are still in goaltending peril with Maxime Lagace as their main man between the pipes. He has not been able to hold the line for Marc-Andre Fleury like Malcolm Subban and Oscar Dansk did.
It’s expected Maxime Lagace will start, although this has not yet been confirmed. Connor Hellebuyck will start for the Jets once again.
PREDICTION FOR TONIGHT
Maxime Lagace must be nervous heading into this matchup against the high-flying offence that is the Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets’ offence fires on all cylinders tonight and makes gravy out of Lagace. Wheeler, Laine (2), Copp and Trouba bury as the Jets defeat the Golden Knights 5-1.