The Winnipeg Jets face off against the Edmonton Oilers tonight in game two of the first round best-of-seven series between the sides. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. central time.
The Jets are coming into this game after winning game one on Wednesday night. It was an all around team effort from the Jets as they beat the Oilers 4-1 to take the early series lead.
Dan St. Joseph had a must read recap of the game and provided insights on what made the difference in game one. You can read that article by clicking the link here or the “Trending” link at the bottom of this article.
The Winnipeg Jets are looking to head back to Winnipeg with a 2-0 series lead
Tonight’s game is again at Rogers Place in Edmonton. After this game, the sides will head to Bell MTS Place for the next two game of the series, which will be on Sunday and Monday.
History is on the Jets’ side if they can again win tonight. Teams that have won this first two games on the road have historically done extremely well in the postseason.
According to Hockey Reference, teams that have had won the first two games of a series away from home have won the series 80.4% of the time.
Odds
Although the Jets won game one, they are still listed as the underdogs for tonight’s matchup.
It is always tough to win two straight games against the same opponent and only two teams in this edition of the Stanley Cup Playoffs have accomplished this feat.
Tonight has all the makings of another great game to watch.
Where you can Find the Game
TV: CBC, SN, TVAS, NBCSN
Radio: 680 CJOB
Projected Lineups
The big question involving the Winnipeg Jets’ lineup is the availability of Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois. Both of these players missed game one and their status is still up in the air for tonight’s game.
Paul Maurice did say yesterday that “there is a chance” that both players could play, but that decision will not be made until after today’s morning skate.
Maurice said "there is a chance" that Dubois or Ehlers plays in Game 2.
— Mitchell Clinton (@MitchellClinton) May 20, 2021
Still needs to see how they're feeling at morning skate before making a final determination.
The Jets defense is projected to remain the same after a great performance two nights ago. There was an uncertainty of who would start as Winnipeg’s third pair on Wednesday and Logan Stanley and Tucker Poolman were given the start.
Stanley and Poolman had stand out performances in game one. Stanley had an assist on the game winning goal, eight hits, and a +1 rating, while Poolman scored the Jets’ first goal of the playoffs, had three hits and was a +2. This pair will look to build on their terrific game one performance this evening.
Connor Hellebuyck will be the Jets’ starting goaltender tonight after playing absolutely outstanding in game one. Hellebuyck stopped 32 of the 33 shots the Oilers sent his way.
The Jets are projected to lineup like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Copp-Stastny-Ehlers*
Perreault-Lowry-Appleton
Toninato-Thompson-Lewis
Morrissey-DeMelo
Forbort-Pionk
Stanley-Poolman
Hellebuyck (Brossoit)
*= Game-time decision
Edmonton is expected to use the same exact lineup that they used in game one for tonight’s crucial clash.
Mike Smith is projected to be named Edmonton’s starter tonight. Smith allowed two goals on Wednesday before the Jets tallied two empty netters to seal the victory.
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: Do you think the Winnipeg Jets should make any lineup changes for tonight’s game? Leave your comments below!
*All Stats Provided by the NHL*