Winnipeg Jets hockey is back at Canada Life Centre on the afternoon prior to game 7 of the World Series. The 8-3-0 Winnipeg Jets will be battling against the team at the top of the NHL league standings at the end of October, the 8-2-2 Pittsburgh Penguins. Connor Hellebuyck was solid in net, the Jets top line combined for 9 points, and Josh Morrissey recorded another multi point night. Tonight’s opponent features Captain Canada, Sidney Crosby, and a Penguins team that has well exceeded expectations through their first 12 games of the season.

The injury report for the Jets added one name, Gustav Nyquist. During the Jets game with the Blackhawks Nyquist left the game with an “undisclosed” injury, and he’s now confirmed to miss this afternoon’s game. Cole Perfetti is still out with an ankle injury and Adam Lowry is close to recovering from off-season hip surgery. Dylan Samberg continues to recover from the broken wrist he injured prior to the regular season. There’s a good chance if all goes well that all three of them will be back and in the lineup by the end of November.

The Penguins injury report is quite lengthy, but it includes several players not on their main roster. Joel Blomqvist, Tanner Howe, Jack St. Ivany and Rutger McGroarty have been on the injury reserve since October 6th or 7th. Kevin Hayes has also been on the injured reserve since October 6th with an upper body injury. Caleb Jones, and the most notable of the names, Rickard Rakell, were added to the injured reserve early last week.

Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi

Namestnikov – Toews – Iafallo

Niederreiter – Barron – Pearson

Koepke – Ford – Lambert

Morrissey – DeMelo

Stanley – Pionk

Fleury – Schenn

Comrie

Hellebuyck

The unconfirmed starting goalie is Eric Comrie, who will likely be making his 3rd start of the season. Eric Comrie has been great in his only two starts this season, posting a 2-0-0 record with a 2.50 GAA and a .926 SV%. With Nyquist confirmed out, Tanner Pearson moves up to the 3rd line. Brad Lambert re-enters the Jets lineup on the 4th line, and the rest of the line combinations are likely to remain the same as the game against the Blackhawks.

Hallander – Crosby – Rust

Mantha – Malkin – Brazeu

Novak – Kindel – Koivunen

Dewar – Lizotte – Acciari

Wotherspoon – Karlsson

Shea – Letang

Pickering – Dumba

Jarry

Silovs

The Penguins, despite having multiple forward injuries, have a lineup with multiple players that have stepped up to the opportunity early in the season. Looking at the Penguins’s stats through 12 games, every line has contributed, but the 2nd line has been the most productive. Evgeni Malkin leads the team with 3 goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 12 games. Malkin’s linemates are only behind Sidney Crosby in points, with Brazeu sitting at 12 points and Mantha just behind with 11 points in those 12 games. Tristan Jarry is the unconfirmed starting goalie. Jarry has been quite amazing to start the season, posting a 5-1-0 record with a 2.35 GAA and a .923 SV% (a top 10 save percentage in the league) and 1 shutout.

Nobody except for Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights had more points in the month of October than Mark Scheifele. In 11 games, Scheifele recorded 9 goals and 9 assists for 18 points. The 32-year old is tied for the league lead in goals with 9, and he scored those 9 goals on just 29 shots, good for a 31% shooting percentage. The Jets top line has picked up right where they left off last season, and the trio has been a large contributor to the Jets 8-3-0 start to the season.

Every time the Penguins come to play in Winnipeg, all eyes are on Sidney Crosby. The 38-year old refuses to slow down, as he sits 2nd in Penguins scoring with 15 points in 12 games. With Rickard Rakell out of the lineup, Crosby will have a different Swedish winger in Filip Hallander. We’ve seen before how Sidney Crosby has elevated Bryan Rust’s game (the other winger on the top line), and we’ll now see what Crosby does with another somewhat new linemate. Crosby has to be the Jets top priority whenever he’s on the ice.

Puck drop is set for just after 2:00 pm CT, the afternoon before the clocks turn back an hour at night. Jets fans will hopefully be able to celebrate a win on the 1st Jets game of November. Tonight’s game is poised to a competitive battle, as the Jets get a rare appearance from this Eastern conference opponent. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for a recap of the action, as the Jets look to improve to 9-3-0 on the season.