New York, New York! The Winnipeg Jets begin a 3 game road trip tonight, with the 1st stop being in “The Big Apple”, also known as the city that never sleeps. The New York Rangers will be a tough test for this Jets team that has found many different ways of winning hockey games this season. Thursday the Jets will play in Tampa Bay, followed by a visit to the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, on Saturday.

The Jets are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games against the Rangers. The latest matchup, on March 19th 2024, saw the Jets walk away with a 4-2 victory. This game featured a hat trick from Mark Scheifele and a wonderful 39 save performance from Connor Hellebuyck. Coming off a 4-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon, the Jets will be looking for another strong performance against a contender from the Eastern conference.

Saturday, November 9th, 2024, NHL history was made, as the Jets became the 1st team in NHL history to win 14 of their first 15 games in an NHL season. The 14-1-0 record to start the 2024-25 season still hasn’t been fully processed by me yet, as in it just seems surreal to have this kind of a record. It’s really just such a great sign to see the Jets getting all this attention around the league for their early season performances. The Rangers sit 10th overall in the league standings currently (with a few games in hand), sitting at an impressive 9-3-1 record.

Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele are tied at the top of Jets scoring, each collecting 19 points in 15 games. Nikolaj Ehlers is closely behind the top line duo, sitting at 18 points (9 goals and 9 assists). Josh Morrissey leads all Jets defenceman in scoring with 16 points (2 goals and 14 assists) in his 15 appearances.

Artemi Panarin is the player to watch for on this talented Rangers team. Panarin is 10 points clear of the 2nd top scorer on the Rangers, collecting 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 13 games. Alexis Lafreniere, Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox each have 11 points in 13 games, and they’ll all be players that the Jets will need to shutdown to have a chance at victory tonight.

Starting goalies for tonight’s game have not been confirmed yet, but the likely starters are Connor Hellebuyck for the Jets, and Igor Shesterkin for the Rangers. This game may seem like a good time for the Jets to go back to Eric Comrie, but with the way Hellebuyck is playing right now, it would be very difficult to take him out of the net. Hellebuyck almost went 3 straight games with a shutout, before allowing a goal in the final minutes against the Stars. Shesterkin has had a solid season for the Rangers so far, going 6-3-1 with a 2.62 GAA and a .920 SV%,

Special teams will very likely play a big factor in deciding who wins tonight. The Jets continue to sit at number 1 in the league on the powerplay with an incredible 41.9 PP%. The Rangers powerplay has played well this season too, as they sit 6th in the league with a 26.3 PP%.

The Jets number 1 powerplay will be up against the number 1 penalty kill in the league. The Rangers have a 91.1 PK%, shutting teams down in almost every powerplay opportunity they give them. The Jets penalty kill was near the top of the league, but has taken a bit of a fall, now sitting 13th in the league with a 82.4 PK%.

Despite this game featuring a battle between two of the best goalies in the world, Hellebuyck and Shesterkin, this game could end up a high scoring affair. The Jets are scoring a league best 4.47 goals per game, while the Rangers are 6th in this stat category at 3.77 goals per game. Both teams shoot, and score often, so Hellebuyck and Shesterkin (if named the starters) will have to be sharp in goal.

Puck drop will be at 6 pm CT tonight in what promises to be an all-around exciting matchup. Stay tuned to our JetsNation social media for a pre-game show from Angus, followed by a post game article / recap after the game. We’ll soon find out if the Jets will be the 1st team in the NHL to reach 15 wins.