Winnipeg Jets vs Canucks: Nate Schmidt Makes His Return to Vancouver

The Winnipeg Jets‘ quick two-game road trip will come to a close tonight as the Jets head to Vancouver to take on the struggling Canucks. The opening puck drop for tonight’s game is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. central time.

Last night, the Jets played their second game of a home-and-home series against the Edmonton Oilers. Although the Jets played well and outshot the Oilers 47-32, Stuart Skinner made the difference in the game as he limited the Jets to one goal. Ultimately, Edmonton was able to beat Winnipeg in a shootout.

On the other hand, the Canucks are a little bit more well-rested than the Jets. The last time the Canucks were in action was on Wednesday night on home ice against the Colorado Avalanche. Unfortunately, things did not go well for Vancouver as they lost 4-2.  With that loss, Vancouver is currently on a five-game losing streak.

The Winnipeg Jets can split this quick road trip with a win tonight against the Vancouver Canucks

This is the first time these two sides will be facing off against each other this season. With a win tonight, Winnipeg will be able to pick up three of a possible four points available on this two-game road trip.

This game is also the first time Nate Schmidt will be back in Vancouver after being traded by them to the Jets for a 2022 third-round draft pick this offseason. Last season Schmidt appeared in 54 games with the Canucks and he had five goals and ten assists.

Odds

The Winnipeg Jets come into tonight as the favorites, courtesy of WynnBET.

When looking at this game it is interesting to note that this is only the second time this season the Jets are playing back-to-back games on back-to-back nights. The last time the Jets faced this task was earlier this month on home ice. Winnipeg beat Chicago in the first game and was shutout by the New York Islanders in the second game.

But this time around, the Jets are coming into this game after dropping their game last night. It will be interesting to see how the Jets perform out of the gate. This may be the difference in this game.

Projected Lineups

Paul Maurice is not a coach who likes to make many lineup changes and that seems to be the case for tonight’s game.

We could see the Jets make two changes for this game. First, we may see the Jets dress eleven forwards and seven defensemen. Nathan Beaulieu may come into the lineup and replace Kristian Vesalainen who played a team-low three minutes and fifty-eight seconds of ice time yesterday.

The second Jets change is projected to be in the Jets’ goal. Eric Comrie is projected to get his first start since November 6 against the Islanders. Comrie has played extremely well to start this season, he has a 3-1-0 record with a 1.98 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

Here’s how the Jets are projected to lineup:

Connor-Dubois-Svechnikov
Ehlers-Scheifele-Wheeler
Copp-Lowry-Harkins
Nash-Toninato

Dillon-Pionk
Morrissey-Schmidt
Stanley-DeMelo
Beaulieu

Comrie (Hellebuyck)

There is one familiar face to Winnipeg supporters that will be in the Canucks lineup tonight. That player is Tucker Poolman. During this offseason, Poolman signed a four-year contract with Vancouver after being with the Jets organization since 2017-2018. Already this season, Poolman has more points than he did all of last year with the Jets. Currently, the twenty-eight-year-old has one goal and two assists compared to the 2021 season where he only had one assist in 39 games played.

Jaroslav Halak is projected to start in goal for the Cancuks. The veteran goaltender is still seeking his first win of the season.

The Canucks lines are listed below are courtesy of the Daily Faceoff.

Here is how the Canucks are expected to lineup :

Pearson-Horvat-Hoglander
Miller-Pettersson-Boeser
Podjolzin-Dickinson-Garland
Dowling-Lammikko-Motte

Ekman-Larsson–Poolman
Hughes-Hamonic
Burroughs-Myers

Halak (Demko)

Where to Catch the Game

TV: TSN3, SNP

Radio: 680 CJOB

Livestream: TSN.ca, TSN APP, ESPN+

Winnipeg Jets Fans: Will the Winnipeg Jets win tonight’s game? Leave your comments below!