Winnipeg Jets vs Calgary Flames: 2021 Preseason Game 5 Preview

Tonight will be the Winnipeg Jets‘ fifth game out of their six-game preseason as they host the Calgary Flames at the Canada Life Centre. Tonight’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. central time.

The Jets return to Winnipeg after a two-game road trip in which they lost both games by one goal. On Saturday night, Winnipeg lost to Edmonton 4-3 and on Sunday, the Jets lost their second game in a row in a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

Calgary is coming into Winnipeg after playing the Oilers on Monday in Edmonton. That game was one to forget for the Flames as they blew an early three-goal lead and the Oilers scored four unanswered goals in the second half of the game to win 4-3.

The Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames start a two-game series to conclude the preseason

This game will be the first game of a home and home series between the Jets and Flames. On Friday night, the preseason will come to a close for both of these teams when they matchup in Calgary.

Projected Lineups

Now that the Jets are on the business end of the preseason and the fact that they assigned eleven players to the Manitoba Moose on Monday, expect tonight’s lineup to be extremely close to what we could see during the regular season with a couple of roster hopefuls sprinkled in.

We will most likely see similar lines to what the Jets employed yesterday at practice.  It is projected that Paul Maurice and the Jets coaching staff may juggle their lines throughout the game. Mark Schiefele will be suspended for the Jets’ first game of the 2021-2022 regular season, so Maurice will definitely be looking at players who can fill in on Schiefele’s line in Anaheim for the season opener.

Evgeny Svechnikov and Cole Perfetti are looking to build on a so-far terrific training camp and earn spots on Winnipeg’s opening night roster. Keep a close eye on these two players tonight.

On defense, Logan Stanley will not be in tonight’s lineup. He suffered an injury in Vancouver and is listed as day-to-day and should be returning from injury within the coming days.

Connor Hellebuyck is projected to start in net tonight for the Jets. Hellebuyck has only featured once this preseason and that was in Winnipeg’s second game where he picked up the win.

The Flames lineup is a bit unpredictable for tonight’s clash. Yesterday Calgary only had 11 skaters and two goaltenders at their practice in Winnipeg.

Johnny Gaudreau left Monday’s game in the second period, but head coach, Daryl Sutter said that Gaudreau is “fine.”

Sean Monahan and Noah Hanifin made their preseason debuts on Monday and they are projected to play again tonight.

There is a familiar face from the Jets 2021 roster on the Flames roster. Trevor Lewis departed the Jets as an unrestricted free agent this offseason and signed a one-year deal with Calgary. Lewis is expected to dress this evening against his former team.

Jacob Markstrom and Dan Vladar split the workload in Monday’s loss. It is expected that each of these goaltenders will start one game of the two-game series between these sides.

Where you can Find the Game

TV: TSN3

Radio: 680 CJOB

Livestream: TSN.ca, TSN app, ESPN+

Winnipeg Jets Fans: Which Winnipeg Jets player are you most excited to watch tonight? Leave your comments below!

*All Stats Provided by the NHL*