The Winnipeg Jets look to even up their season series with the St. Louis Blues in the last of their four meetings in the regular season. The Blues are losers of their last four games, while the Jets are 3-3 in their last 6. Both teams will be looking to reverse their fortunes tonight at the Scottrade Center.
The Winnipeg Jets will look for a better performance in St. Louis than their previous game at home against the Kings. While they only lost by a goal, the Jets were outmuscled and outplayed for most of the game by a team they should not have had a problem with. Some simple adjustments and coaching could fix that though as the Jets have the roster to get it done. St. Louis will be another physical test to cut their teeth on.
Starting Goaltenders
Connor Hellebuyck – The Winnipeg Jets netminder is 31-9-8 with a 2.36 GAA, 0.922 SV%, and 5 shutouts. Hellebuyck will do much better in tonight’s game if he can see the shots coming at him and not have to worry about opponents in his face.
Jake Allen – The Blues backstop is 19-17-2 with a 2.72 GAA, 0.908 SV%, and 1 shutout. Allen is 2-11 over his last 13 starts and hasn’t registered back-to-back wins since December 9th and 10th. It also does not help that the team in front of him has been bitten by the injury bug lately.
Injuries
TL ; DL – Lots of players for both teams.
For the Blues:
Sammy Blais – Concussion-like symptoms.
Robert Bortuzzo – Lower body Injury with no return estimate.
Joel Edmundson – Broken right forearm.
Robby Fabbri – ACL tear. Done for season.
Carl Gunnarsson – Mystery ailment. Shake magic 8-Ball and ask again tomorrow.
Vladimir Sobotka – Facial injury. Day-to-day.
Nikita Soshnikov – Lower body injury. Early March return expected.
For the Jets:
Michael Hutchinson – Concussion. Cleared to play by doctors. Unknown when he will be activated off IR.
Adam Lowry – Upper body injury. Early March return expected.
Steve Mason – Concussion as well. Also cleared to play by doctors. Unknown when he will be activated off IR.
Shawn Matthias – Upper body injury with no ETR.
Brandon Tanev – Upper body, day-to-day.
Jacob Trouba – Ankle injury, out for another month.
WHEW! I might be out 6-8 weeks with carpal tunnel after that.
Three Things to Watch For
The Forecheck – Consistency along the walls goes a long way to set up the Jets potent offense. If St. Louis wins the wall battles Winnipeg could be in for another long night.
The Slot – The Jets learned a hard lesson last game when they were outmuscled and outmaneuvered in both the slot and paint. If they want a chance to win both tonight and the playoffs, they have to own the area in front of Hellebuyck.
Next: Winnipeg Jets need to hurry as top players are flying off the board
Trade Tracker – ‘Tis the season! Trades are happening daily now and will ramp up to Mondays Lunch deadline(EST.) Rumors have Kevin Cheveldayoff working the phones, so keep your eyes on those twitter feeds.