After back to back games without a win, the Winnipeg Jets enter the NHL trade deadline week with a busy schedule ahead. Fans are eager to see what approach GM Kevin Cheveldayoff takes this year, as the team could make some subtle additions to help improve what the team needs now, or they could take a swing at some of the bigger trade targets to really push for a deep playoff run. It’s anyone’s guess what will happen before or on Friday, but until then the Jets have some hockey to play. Tonight, the Jets begin a 4 road trip, starting in Long Island to play the Islanders. The Islanders are 2-3-0 in their last 5 games and are looking to get back in the crazy fight for an Eastern conference wild card spot.

For the 5th straight month, the Jets entered at the top of the NHL league standings. With 88 points in 61 games played, the Jets are realistically looking at 5-6 more wins to officially clinch a playoff spot. The Capitals continue to be the closest team to the Jets, sitting at 86 points after 61 games played, as they’ve proven that they’re a real threat in the open Eastern conference. The Islanders have fallen out of a Eastern conference wild card spot over the past few weeks, and now sit 5 points back of the final spot. 61 points after 60 games played puts the Islanders in a position of needing to get wins now. If they continue to lose their next few games, they could be sellers at the deadline, as they currently are sitting 25th overall in the league standings.

These two teams don’t meet too often, but they did meet 1 month ago in Winnipeg. The Jets won that game 4-3, but that win was only the 2nd win against the Islanders for the Jets in their last 10 matchups. It’s tough to tell why the Jets have struggled at getting wins against the Islanders (a usually average team) over the last few years, but tonight will be a good chance to make it 2 in a row.

The Jets held an optional skate yesterday morning before leaving for their road trip, and it was very well attended. During media availability, players talked about the power play struggling as of late, as well as the team making adjustments both on the fly and during practices. Questions later shifted to the upcoming trade deadline, as well as getting opinions on if 1st place in the NHL league standings is an important priority. As much as the players are open to adding some new players at the deadline, they all seemed to understand that it’s up to the management to make those decisions, and they’ll be ready for whatever happens on Friday.

The unconfirmed (but expected) starting goalies are Connor Hellebuyck and Ilya Sorokin. Hellebuyck continues his push to break the record for most wins by a goalie in an NHL season (48), currently holding an impressive 36-7-3 record. A 1.99 GAA, a 927 SV%, and 6 shutouts are all among top 5 numbers for goalies in the league this year, as Hellebuyck has his eyes set on winning his 3rd Vezina. Sorokin has had a slightly below average this season for his standards, holding a 22-19-4 record with a 2.86 GAA, a .903 SV% and 3 shutouts. You might have seen Sorokin score a goal recently, as he made a save late in a game against the Nashville Predators before Steven Stamkos accidentally passed the back backwards down the ice into his own empty net. Sorokin got credit for the goal for being the last player on the Islanders to touch the puck. Tonight should be a good goalie matchup, and with the Islanders more “defensive” play style, this may end up a low scoring game.

Tonight’s puck drop is set for slightly after 6:30 pm CT. The Jets are looking to get back in the win column, as their push to be the 1st team to clinch a playoff spot continues. The Islanders are looking to re-enter the wild card conversation in the tight Eastern conference, and they’ll need to look for different ways of winning their upcoming games. I expect this game to be fairly low scoring with the styles these teams tend to play, and I hope that the Jets powerplay will find some success on one of their first opportunities in the game. Check back here post game for a recap on tonight’s Jets action!