JNGD.S8.G63 Flight Plan: Hayes Gets His First Look As Jets Face Wild

By KB

5 years ago

The first game after the trade deadline is always interesting, especially when making as many moves as the Jets and Wild did. They made moves in different ways as the Wild sold off two of their best forwards in Coyle and Granlund while Winnipeg most notably brought in Kevin Hayes without losing a current roster player. Hayes is looking to step into the second line centre role but it’s unknown where he will fit in for now. Matt Hendricks was also traded from Minnesota to Winnipeg although he isn’t likely to slot into the lineup. It’s going to be a fun night as Jets fans will be able to see their playoff roster for the first time minus a few injuries.

Minnesota Wild (30-27-6)
@
Winnipeg Jets (37-21-4)

February 26, 2019 – Puck drop: 7:00 PM CST
Bell MTS Place – Winnipeg, MB
TV: TSN 3 – Radio: TSN 1290


VS STL 2-1 W	Last Game	VS ARI 4-1 LOSS
3-2 (3 W)	Last 5 Games	1-3-1 (1 L)
ZACH PARISE – 24	Goal Leader	MARK SCHEIFELE – 30
RYAN SUTER – 34	Assist Leader	BLAKE WHEELER – 60
ZACH PARISE – 53	Points Leader	BLAKE WHEELER – 72
20.70% (14TH)	The Power Play	25.30% (4TH)
80.00% (19TH)	The Penalty Kill	79.90% (20TH)
DEVIN DUBNYK (24-21-5 / .911 SV%)	Starting Goalie	CONNOR HELLEBUYCK (27-17-2/ .909 SV%)
L VS STL (27-28 / .964 SV%)	Last Goalie Start	W VS VGK (29-32) / (.906 SV%)
16-14-1 ON ROAD	Road v Home Record	21-7-4 AT HOME

Wild Player To Watch

#22 Kevin Fiala – LW

Assuming his flights aren’t delayed, this will be Fiala’s first game with the Wild. He came over from the Predators in exchange for Mikael Granlund. Fiala is still a young player, and has over 200 games of NHL experience at the age of 22. This season, he has 10 goals and 22 assists in 64 games with the Preds. There is no guess where he will slot into the lineup, but it will likely be somewhere on the second line.

Last Wild Game

It was a defensive battle as the Blues took on the Wild on Sunday. The Wild scored midway through the game and held a 1-0 lead until there was 12 minutes left in the game. The Blues tied it up and it was off to overtime. In the extra frame, it was Donato who scored the game winner in his first home game since joining the club.

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Wild Notes

It’s an interesting time for Minnesota. They have won three games in a row and they’re currently in the middle of the wildcard race but they decided to sell off their assets at the deadline. They traded both Coyle and Granlund and appear to be re-grouping for next year. The team might rally around the underdog mentality and could become a playoff team if they keep their hot streak down the stretch.
Matt Hendricks was another casualty at the deadline for the Wild. Hendricks has played sparingly this season and has been in and out of the lineup with injury and as a healthy scratch. Even if he doesn’t touch the ice for the Jets, his leadership and humour will be welcome in the Jets dressing room.
The Wild are clearly trying to get younger as they traded for two players that are 22 years old. Things didn’t work out well for the Wild as their core from a few seasons ago was never quite able to reach the next level in the playoffs. There was plenty of failure and it appears the team is finally beginning to admit it and start to rebuild for the future.

Jets Player To Watch

#12 Kevin Hayes – Centre

All eyes will be on Kevin Hayes in this game. He was the biggest splash in Winnipeg by far and the lots of fans are curious to watch him play. He’s a big man, standing at 6’5, but is known as a playmaker not unlike Blake Wheeler. Hayes will likely start on the second line and bump Little down the depth chart. As for what he brings to the table, the 26 year old has 14 goals and 28 assists in 51 games. The trade deadline bar was set pretty high last year by Stastny and everyone will be watching Hayes closely as he gets acquainted with his new club.

Last Jets Game

This game started out strong. The Jets gained a 1-0 lead off another Laine rocket and it appeared that the Jets could finish the road trip with momentum. The game took a turn for the worse after that as the Coyotes kept scoring throughout the game. Kuemper played great in goal and Ben Chiarot scored the winner, for the wrong team… He booted the puck past Brossoit on a rebound which turned out to be the winning goal.

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Jets Notes

Hoo boy. What a trade deadline day for the Jets. There was so many moving pieces, the easiest way to check it out is to read our recap here.
Obviously bringing in Hayes was the big news of the day, but there might be some more new faces in the lineup really soon. We have no official word on Morrissey, but he’s doubtful for this one after going down with a shoulder injury against the Coyotes. That means there’s a good chance that either Beaulieu or Kiselevich get the start as well.
The Jets have a two game homestand as they face the Wild tonight and the Preds on Friday. After that it’s a four game road trip as they tour the east coast.

Player ratings courtesy Corsica.Hockey

Be sure to check out our Twitter feed for any late mid-day updates to the game lineups!
You can also get up to the minute lineup combos for the Jets
including power play and penalty kill lines by checking out our line combo page.

Take these lines with many grains of salt because nobody has any real clue as to what the lines are going to look like in this one.

Minnesota Wild Lines

LW	C	RW	Forwards
JORDAN GREENWAY Rating: 71.4#101 LW	ERIC STAAL Rating: 79.8#19 C	JASON ZUCKER Rating: 76.4#25 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 75.88#23 FL1
ZACH PARISE Rating: 76.3#28 LW	JOEL ERIKSSON EK Rating: 71.6#126 C	KEVIN FIALA Rating: 74.6#43 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 74.15#19 FL2
MARCUS FOLIGNO Rating: 70.6#116 LW	RYAN DONATO Rating: 75.0#53 C	LUKE KUNIN Rating: 71.9#75 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 72.50#14 FL3
NICK SEELER Rating: 70.3#108 LW	ERIC FEHR Rating: 70.0#115 C	J.T. BROWN Rating: 69.8#117 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 70.06#26 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS		Defense
RYAN SUTER Rating: 80.2#5 LD	JARED SPURGEON Rating: 79.6#11 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 79.92#2 DL1
JONAS BRODIN Rating: 73.5#46 LD	GREG PATERYN Rating: 72.5#58 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 72.97#17 DL2
BRAD HUNT Rating: 75.2#27 LD	ANTHONY BITETTO Rating: 68.5#105 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 71.84#17 DL3

GOALIES
DEVAN DUBNYK Rating: 72.5#29 G1	ALEX STALOCK Rating: 68.0#61 G2

Winnipeg Jets Lines

LW	C	RW	Forwards
PATRIK LAINE Rating: 78.7#13 LW	MARK SCHEIFELE Rating: 83.6#7 C	BLAKE WHEELER Rating: 80.1#10 RW	FL1 Rating Rating: 80.82#4 FL1
KYLE CONNOR Rating: 77.1#24 LW	KEVIN HAYES Rating: 76.1#42 C	NIKOLAJ EHLERS Rating: 77.7#20 RW	FL2 Rating Rating: 76.98#7 FL2
MATHIEU PERREAULT Rating: 71.8#95 LW	BRYAN LITTLE Rating: 74.8#55 C	JACK ROSLOVIC Rating: 70.4#110 RW	FL3 Rating Rating: 72.34#19 FL3
ANDREW COPP Rating: 72.4#84 LW	ADAM LOWRY Rating: 73.3#80 C	BRANDON TANEV Rating: 71.9#78 RW	FL4 Rating Rating: 72.54#3 FL4

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS		Defense
JOSH MORRISSEY Rating: 74.1#36 LD	JACOB TROUBA Rating: 76.4#22 RD	DL1 Rating Rating: 75.28#15 DL1
BEN CHIAROT Rating: 71.7#84 LD	SAMI NIKU Rating: 72.8#55 RD	DL2 Rating Rating: 72.23#23 DL2
DMITRY KULIKOV Rating: 69.8#115 LD	TYLER MYERS Rating: 74.0#37 RD	DL3 Rating Rating: 71.89#15 DL3