JGD Preseason #4: Jets Fly Into Minny
8 years ago
It’s a Sunday preseason showdown between Central division rivals as the Jets take on the Minnesota Wild and with the Jets roster starting to be trimmed, it’s maybe a final chance for young players to leave one last impression on Paul Maurice and coaching staff.
Like the last couple of games we’ve seen, the veteran vs youth ratio will be a factor as the Jets bring a younger more AHL-ish looking lineup into Minnesota while the Wild will have more of an established NHL regulars look.
Winnipeg Jets
Forwards:
Mathieu Perreault – Adam Lowry – Nikolaj Ehlers
Nic Petan – Mark Scheifele – Thomas Raffl
Matt Fraser – Patrice Cormier – Joel Armia
Matt Halischuk – Ryan Olsen – Anthony Peluso
Defense:
Adam Pardy – Jacob Trouba
Josh Morrissey – Brendan Kichton
Jan Kostalek – Andrew MacWilliam
Goalies:
Michael Hutchinson
Connor Hellebuyck
Hutchinson will start and is expected to go the full game. Expect to see a lot of Morrissey, Kichton and Kostalek as this may be their final chance – if not the final one – for them to convince coaches they deserve a longer look with only three preseason games left after tonight.
Minnesota Wild
Forwards:
Charlie Coyle – Mikko Koivu – Jordan Schroeder – Zach Parise – Ryan Carter – Nino Niederreiter – Jason Pominville – Thomas Vanek – Tyler Graovac – Brett Bulmer – Erik Hula – Mikael Granlund
Defense:
Mike Reily – Ryan Suter – Matt Dumba – Jonas Brodin – Tyson Strachan – Nate Prosser – Jared Spurgeon
Goalies:
Devan Dubnyk – Niklas Backstrom
The Wild save for one line at forward and defense will be mostly NHL quality so the Jets will have quite a challenge in front of them. No word at press time who the Wild will start in goal but an educated guess says Dubnyk should get the call.
PREDICTIONS
Game Day Prediction: Jets still on the lookout for their first win after tonight. The NHL heavy Wild win 4-2
Obvious Prediction: Nik Ehlers gets his first goal of the preseason. Book it.
Not So Obvious Prediction: 45% of the crowd tonight will be Jets fans and be vocal as always as they enjoy the back end of a solid sports Sunday having attended the Vikings game earlier in the day.
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