The Winnipeg Jets kick off their first round series of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight against the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton at Rogers Place. Puck drop for tonight’s game one is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. central time.
This is the first time in NHL history that the Jets and Oilers will be facing each other in the postseason and this series has all the makings of a fun one to watch.
Edmonton dominated the season series, winning seven of the nine regular season matchups between these sides.
The Winnipeg Jets will look to start the best-of-seven series versus the Edmonton Oilers with a win
A victory in game one is of significant importance for the Jets and teams that have won game one historically have done well in best-of-seven series. According to Hockey Reference, teams that won the first game of a series have gone on to win that series 68.8% of the time.
History shows how important this game is for the Winnipeg Jets tonight.
Odds
The Jets are the underdogs in tonight’s matchup. This should come as no surprise considering the Oilers are the higher seed, are on home ice and have played extremely well against the Jets this season.
In the early stages of these playoffs, we have seen the lower seed win many of the games including on Sunday when all three lower-ranked seeds won their respective matchups.
Do not count out the Jets in this series opener!
Where you can Find the Game
TV: CBC, SN, TVAS, NBCSN
Radio: 680 CJOB
Projected Lineups
The Winnipeg Jets lineup is a bit unpredictable for tonight’s series opening game. Nikolaj Ehlers and Andrew Copp both participated in practice yesterday in non-contact jerseys, while Pierre-Luc Dubois did not skate.
Out of those three players, Copp looks the most likely to dress. Ehlers will be listed as a game-time decision and Dubois looks doubtful after not skating in the practices leading up to this game. The Jets’ forward line combinations will hinge on if either Dubois and Ehlers dress or if they both do.
Winnipeg’s third defensive pairing is also up in the air. If yesterday’s practice is any indication of who will dress then Logan Stanley and Tucker Poolman are expected to dress, which means Ville Heinola and Jordie Benn will get scratched.
Connor Hellebuyck will get the start in goal for Winnipeg. Hellebuyck finished the regular season with a 24-17-3 record including a 2.58 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.
The Jets are projected to lineup like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Copp-Stastny-Ehlers*
Perreault-Lowry-Appleton
Harkins-Thompson-Lewis
Morrissey-DeMelo
Forbort-Pionk
Stanley-Poolman
Hellebuyck (Brossoit)
*= game-time decision
Edmonton may welcome back one hard-hitting player back from the injured reserve for tonight’s game. That player is Zack Kassian and he has been out injured since April 21 but is expected to make his return tonight.
Also, Slater Koekkoek is expected to dress for his second straight game this evening. Koekkoek was injured back in February, but played in the Oilers’ final regular season game and looks set to start tonight.
Mike Smith will get the start in net for Edmonton. Smith has been outstanding this season posting a 21-6-2 record with a 2.31 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
The Oilers are expected to lineup like this:
Kahun-McDavid-Puljujarvi
Nugent Hopkins-Draisaitl-Yamamoto
Neal-McLeod-Kassian
Archibald-Khaira-Chiasson
Nurse-Barrie
Kulikov-Larsson
Koekkoek-Bear
Smith (Koskinen)
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Will the Winnipeg Jets win tonight’s game one? Leave your comments below!
*All Stats Provided by the NHL*