JGD 17: Jets look to not get Star-Struck

The Winnipeg Jets will continue their divisional road-trip tonight against the red-hot Dallas Stars.

The Jets have slipped in recent weeks, going 4-4-2 in their last 10 and dropping 4 of their last 5, including Tuesday night’s thumping by the Minnesota Wild. The offense has dried up for the Jets in the month of November. During the month of October, the Jets averaged 3.27 goals for per game. In November, they have scored just 10 goals in 5 games.

On the other side of the ice, the Stars have continued to be one of the better teams in the NHL. Their record would be even better if they could have figured out how to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. Go figure. The Stars are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, but have gone 7-3-0 in their last 10.

The Stars are currently second in the league in goals-for with 56 on the season. The Jets will need to tighten up defensively to shut down the likes of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and make sure to take advantage of their chances in this one. Also, and possibly most importantly, the Jets will need to stay out of the penalty box.

Here are the lineups for tonight:

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Andrew Copp will most likely be back centering the fourth line again tonight. It looks like Chris Thorburn will stay on the third line after replacing Alex Burmistrov there last game. Nic Petan also returns to the lineup tonight in place of Anthony Peluso. 

The Ladd’s Little Wheeler line continues to produce. Wheeler is currently fourth in the league in scoring with 19 points and has 5 points in his last 5 games. Scheifele and his line have been quiet so far in November, look for them to get back on track tonight. 

Ben Chiarot will return to the lineup tonight in place of Paul Postma. He will pair up with Tyler Mylers while Jacob Trouba goes back with Mark Stuart. 

Dustin Byugflien (2 goals, 1 assist) and Tobias Entrom (4 assits) have combined for 7 points in the last 5 games.

Paul Maurice as elected to back with Pavelec in this one after being pulled last night after allowing 4 goals on 12 shots. Maurice says it was more of how the team was playing in front of him rather than his individual play, which is definitely true. Still, Pavelec will need to play stronger in net. 

There aren’t many scarier lines in the NHL than the line of Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Patrick Sharp. Seguin is currently tied for first in the league in scoring with Chicago Blackhawk’s Patrick Kane with 23 points, while Jamie Benn is right behind them in third with 21 points. 

The trio have also combined for 16 points in the last 5 games.

John Klingberg is quietly making his case for Norris Trophy consideration. He is currently tied for second in the league in scoring among defensemen with 15 points, is a +7 and averages 23:25 of ice time per game. 

Kari Lehtonen will be back in net tonight for the Stars. Lehtonen was on a 3-game win streak when the stars decided to play Antti Niemi against the Maple Leafs Tuesday night. During Lehtonen’s 3-game win streak, he has posted a 1.67 GAA and a .946 save percentage.