Tonight, the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis will go at it in a battle of the Central Division. Neither team has had games going their way lately and this one could help turn it around for one team.
Folks, tonight should be a good one. Our Winnipeg Jets are looking to further sink the bottom feeding St. Louis Blues. Winnipeg currently has two back to back losses, which should be put to a stop today.
Injuries and roster changes
Winnipeg will once again be without defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, as he slowly recovers from an upper-body injury. We also might not see Andrew Copp in the lineup, after being listed as day-to-day due to and unspecified head injury.
Although we haven’t seen him for quite some time, tonight marks the first night that Kristian Vesalainen isn’t with the club. The teen was reassigned not to long ago after he was receiving minimal ice time, plus he was back and forth between the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose.
St. Louis has a few guys listed as injured. Alex Steen and Carl Gunnarsson are both listed as day-to-day with upper body injuries. There’s no word yet on whether they will be in the lineup tonight.
Robert Bortuzzo, Jaden Schwartz, and Erik Foley all remain on injured reserve. Bortuzzo has begun skating once again after a lower body injury, however there is a slim chance we see him dressed tonight. Schwartz won’t be in either, since the Blues put him on their IR yesterday. Erik Foley has yet to play anywhere yet this season. The former Jets prospect who was traded to the Blues at the deadline has been out months with a concussion.
Starting Goalies
Head Coach Paul Maurice has decided to shake things up again. Laurent Brossoit will guard the crease in this contest. Brossoit has been magnificent for the Winnipeg Jets this season, boasting a .951 save percentage, a 3-1-1 record, and a spectacularly low GAA of 1.65.
The decision not to play Connor Hellebuyck comes following a loss to Minnesota the other night and a horrendous loss to Calgary a little while back. Against Calgary, Hellebuyck let in three goals on his first nine shots, which led to Maurice yanking him from the game. He wasn’t bad against Minnesota’s, with 35 saves on 38 shots faced. We just weren’t able to pull of the win.
Chad Johnson is the suspect to start in goal for St. Louis tonight. Johnson is St. Louis’ backup this year, and has decent numbers. His 2-4-0 record and his 2.41 GAA stats aren’t so nice, but the tendy has a mediocre save percentage of .916, and recorded a shutout a little while back.
Players to watch
Watch out for Winnipeg Jets sniper, Patrik Laine. The kid has scored in three games straight, tonight could be his fourth. Also, he’s potted six in the past three.
Blues Forward, Brayden Schenn is expected to play his 100th game in a Blues uniform tonight. The 27 year old has had a slower start to the season than usual, with 13 points in 17 games.
This tilt is crucial for both teams, who really don’t want to be where they are at the moment. St. Louis needs to get out of last place, while Winnipeg needs to get out of their little inconsistent slump.
May the best team win…