Winnipeg Jets Look To Down Devils On The Road In Appleton’s Debut
Tonight, the Winnipeg Jets take on a train wreck of a team in the New Jersey Devils. This is the first match kicking off of our three game road trip.
The Winnipeg Jets and New Jersey Devils are set to duel it out tonight in New Jersey at 6:00 PM Central time. Winnipeg is coming off a tight win the other night, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 6-5. The Devils are currently on a four game losing streak, which they look to snap at home tonight.
The Jets currently sit eleventh in the league, while New Jersey is way back in the 28th spot. Both of these teams have faced ups and downs this season. Winnipeg has been battling inconsistent goaltending, while New Jersey has struggled to pick up wins on the road. The Devils home and away record are almost completely opposite, 7-1-3 at home, but only 2-10-1 on the road.
The Jets will see another player make his NHL debut. This time, Mason Appleton is lacing up the skates and will start on our fourth line alongside Brendan Lemieux and Jack Roslovic. Appleton has been one of the best players in the AHL, with 18 goals in 19 games. The former sixth round pick from Green Bay will be on the right wing.
Who’s hot, who’s not…
Winnipeg Jets goal scorer, Patrik Laine is unstoppable right now, with 21 goals in 24 games. Laine has an outstanding 13 goals in the last six matches, and isn’t looking to be slowing down whatsoever. Laine has found the back of the net and is carrying the Jets to wins. Like I mentioned in a previous article, he is technically on pace for 70+ goals. There’s a good chance that won’t last, but he’s tearing it up right now so watch out for him
Nikolaj Ehlers also came away from the game against Chicago with a hat trick. Look for him to start making a bigger difference in our lineup, as he’s been racking up a nice amount of points in the past few matches.
The Jets also have a few “cold” players at the moment. Connor Hellebuyck has been struggling, as an old habit of allowing weak goals has crept back into his game. This was something Connor had eliminated last season, making him one of the most stellar goalies in the entire league.
The Winnipeg Jets also are expected to scratch Nic Petan. Petan has struggled to produce on the Winnipeg Jets fourth line, with only one assist in his eleven games played.
Starting Goalies
The Jets announced that they would be going with Laurent Brossoit in net tonight. Connor Hellebuyck hasn’t given us anything to work with, making it time to look at other options. Brossoit has had a really good start to the season with a 4-1-1 record, plus some really nice looking stats. His goals against average is 2.05 and he has a shockingly high save percentage of .937.
The Winnipeg Jets picked up Brossoit this offseason, following the departure of Steve Mason. The Mason trade saw him and Joel Armia get sent to Montreal with some picks in exchange for Simon Bourque. Mason’s big contract was sent in a salary dump for the reason of making room for Paul Stastny.
New Jersey will be starting Keith Kinkaid again. Kinkaid has taken the starting job away from Cory Schneider, who was sidelined with an injury. Following his return he’s played five games, going 0-5-0.
It’s been a terrible season for Schneider, who’s GAA is 4.27 and save percentage is .863. Kinkaid has been a more successful, with a 9-6-4 average. His actual goaltending stats have been mediocre, posting a save percentage of .910, and a GAA of 2.79.
Next. Connor Hellebuyck Needs To Sit Out A Few.... dark
Now it’s time to watch these two teams take the ice and see who pulls away with a win…