The battle for top spot in the Central rages on Game day 29 :Winnipeg Jets vs. Colorado Avalanche

Be sure to check Betway to check out the latest Jets game day odds and bet on the NHL! We finally get a regularly timed Winnipeg Jets game; those 9:30 PM middle-of-the-week starts were rough. The Winnipeg Jets are looking to get back to being first in the Central division with a regulation win over the Colorado Avalanche tonight and a St. Louis Blues regulation win over the Dallas Stars.

This is the second game between the Jets and Avalanche this season. Colorado is a far healthier team than the last time the Jets took them on, so we get to see who the Avalanche really are and see how well the Jets can handle the elite teams in the NHL.

So far in the month of December, the Jets have only lost one game and lost that game by a single goal. Connor Hellebuyck, who should be the starter for Winnipeg in this contest, has not allowed three goals against in his last five starts. Start cueing the Vezinabuyck articles in the new year.

In 22 games against the Avs, Hellebuyck has stood tall, going 11-7-4 with a .908 save percentage but owns a lackluster 3.13 goals against average against the divisional opponents.

 

The Jets will see a new face in the opposing net tonight. Ivan Proscetov is getting the expected start. The rookie goaltender has played 22 games over four seasons and recently joined the Avalanche. He currently holds an 8-8-2 record, a 3.51 goals against average, and an .888 save percentage in his NHL career. In his past five starts, he has picked up a point in four games and had a sub .900 SV% in just one of those games.

With the way practice went yesterday, it looks like the Jets are running the same lines they went with against the LA Kings on Thursday night. Why change what clearly worked?

I feel like a broken record with this, but the Jets just need to win the special teams game tonight to secure the victory. The 5-on-5 play has been the best in the NHL, but you can’t get by on scoring once every 18 power plays. Same with the penalty kill; you can’t be letting one of every four penalties lead to a goal against. This is the canyon the Jets need to cross if they want to be seen as a cup contender.

We should take a moment to wonder is the Jets top line going to carry on like they did against the Kings. The Line of Mark Scheifele, Gaberiel Vilardi and Nikolaj Ehlers would put up five goals and 11 points between the three of them. Scheifele loves to play against Colorado. He has put up 12 goals and 36 points against them.