JGD 21: Jets Look To Keep Momentum Going Against Arizona Coyotes

The Winnipeg Jets finally broke the ice with a 4-1 win Wednesday night against the Vancouver Canucks. They’ll look for their first winning streak since October 29-31 tonight as they welcome the Arizona Coyotes to the MTS Centre.

The Coyotes are a bit of a surprise so far this season with a 10-8-1 record (21 points) which is good for third in the Pacific Division. They are led by spectacular rookies Max Domi and Anthony Duclair who have seemed to pick up right where they left off from the World Junior Championships back in January where they won gold for Team Canada. 

Between Domi, Duclair, Tobias Reider, Mikkel Boedker, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, they Coyotes have a lot of speed. They like to run-and-gun and the Jets will need to slow the game down to their speed by having good puck possession and playing a physical game.

It would also be best if they stayed out of the penalty box as much as possible. 

Nic Petan was recently reassigned to Manitoba of the AHL to get more playing time and work on his game. So, it seems Anthony Peluso will be a regular in the Jets lineup for the foreseeable future. He played well against the Vancouver Canucks, playing a very physical game and sticking up for his teammate Nik Ehlers after Luca Sbisa caught him with his head down.

Mark Scheifele and Drew Stafford are both coming off two-goal games after being cold for awhile. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a hot streak for the both of them. 

The defensive pairings remain the same for the Jets. 

The inserting of Adam Pardy into the lineup has given this unit some added stability and physical play. 

Pavalec is expected to get the nod again tonight. He was lights out against the Canucks, stopping 29 of 30 shots faced. 

The Coyotes are playing their final game of a four-game road trip. They are 1-2-0 so far on the road trip.

Anthony Duclair leads the team with 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) during the road trip so far. Martin Hanzal (2 goals, 1 assist) and Oliver Ekman-Larssson (2 goals, 1 assist) both have 3 points. 

Martin Hanzal is having a career-year so far. Through 19 games so far this season, Hanzal has 4 goals and 14 assists for 18 points. He leads the team in both assists and points. 

Oliver Ekman-Larsson leads all Coyotes defensemen in points (14) and ice-time per game (25:29). Big shock there. The next closest in points and TOI/GP is Mark Stone (5 points, 21:05).

Rookie defenseman Philip Samuelsson has looked impressive since being inserted into the lineup two games ago. He’s averaging 18:10 TOI/GP since being put into the lineup. 

Anders Lindback will most likely start again tonight for the Coyotes while Mike Smith is questionable with a lower-body injury. Lindback allowed four goals on 31 shots in a 5-2 loss to the Islanders Monday night. 

Lindback is 2-3-0 with a 2.41 GAA and a .915 save percentage in six appearances so far this season.