Preview: Winnipeg Jets @ Vegas Golden Knights

1 week ago  /  Arctic Ice Hockey

The race for the Central Division’s top spot got that much tighter after the Winnipeg Jets dropped their last game against the Los Angeles Kings. The pursuing Dallas Stars are now just 4 points back with a game in hand, probably making the franchises’ April 10th meeting even more pivotable in determining the eventual winner.



The Jets have 7 games left in the regular season and so far this year, they have amassed a 10-6-2 record versus those remaining 7 opponents. On the other hand, the Stars have 8 contests on tap before the playoffs and have gone 9-3-1 against the 7 different teams they will face. If you pull out your calculator to do the math, the statistics unsurprisingly predict a close finish.



For Winnipeg, their success rate against the opposition suggests they will finish the year with a 4-3-0 record to get to 114 pts on the campaign. The numbers are sort of on the fence when if comes to Dallas, suggesting 5.8 victories over their last 8 matches. Going 5-3-0 wouldn’t be good enough if the True Northers also won their expected 4 games, but 6 wins by the Stars would tie the franchises up at 114 and make the Regulation Win category extremely important since it is the first tie-breaker. As of now, Winnipeg & Dallas are neck & neck with 40 of those each.



So, all the above means it is fairly important for the Winnipeg Jets (51-20-4) to get back to winning ways when they visit the Vegas Golden Knights (45-21-8) on Thursday night. Which is something that could be very difficult to do, since our club has not beaten the Knights in the regular season since March of 2022. That is three years of ending up on the wrong side of the scoreboard when facing off against Vegas, including a pair of losses in 2024-25. In case I am bumming you out too much, I will point out that the True Northers have battled their Pacific Division nemesis extremely well this season, dropping a pair of one-goal games including an overtime loss at the Canada Life Centre.



The Jets have some question marks when it comes to the lineup….well, we do know that Gabriel Vilardi won’t be an option for coach Scott Arniel and we could probably include Rasmus Kupari in that group too. The latest news indicates that Neal Pionk is skating and with the team on the road, so could we see the return of #4 on Thursday? Might be more of a possibility if whatever is ailing Luke Schenn keeps him out for a second straight match. Will have to keep an eye on IllegalCurve for an update after the morning skate. Winnipeg is coming off a loss, but has gone 7-3-0 over their past 10 contests.



The Knights are far from healthy too, with players like Tomas Hertl, Alex Pietrangelo, & Ilya Samsonov all banged up. Vegas has a fairly comfortable 5 point lead over the LA Kings for the Pacific Division title, but continuing to add to their total will make it even more likely for them to finish in the Western Conference’s #2 spot. Thursday’s home team is coming off a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, but had strung off 6 straight wins prior to that.



Here is how PuckPedia is currently projecting the teams to line up on Thursday, based on their most recent matches:









The Vegas Golden Knights recently overtook the Winnipeg Jets’ to have the NHL’s most effective powerplay, but the clubs are close enough that things could change when they face off head-to-head. The Match Up numbers below tell us that the franchises are very much alike…good offenses, great defenses, dangerous PPs, and weaker PKs.



The True Northers should have the edge in net if Connor Hellebuyck gets another start, although Bucky has had more than his usual share of “poor starts” since the 4 Nations tourney. Could that mean the coaches opt to rest him and give Eric Comrie the opportunity to play hero against the Golden Knights?



I will let you look at the numbers below to see how Winnipeg & Vegas compare based on this year’s stats while I figure out how I am going to wrap this thing up….









Alright, now that you know all that…how do you see Thursday’s big game playing out? Do you feel that it is a “must-win” game for the True Northers? Can the Jets finally hear a final horn blare when they have more goals on the scoreboard than the Knights? Will the coaching staff hit the “blend” button and switch the forwards up to try to find more offense? So many questions…..and we have to stay up real late to find out the answers with another 9 pm Central start (thankfully the last one of the regular season).



In a bit of Winnipeg Jets-related news, the Manitoba Moose have been officially eliminated from the AHL playoffs after back-to-back losses to the Laval Rocket. That means that some players may get called up to the NHL once the regular season ends (Apr 19th), which would be just in time to join the big club for the start of the playoffs.



Veterans like Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Dominic Toninato, & Axel Jonsson-Fjallby could be options, as will prospects like Brad Lambert & Elias Salomonsson. Not sure if it will extend to Junior players like Brayden Yager & Colby Barlow too, but they will get the chance to join the Moose for some games if their WHL/OHL playoffs end early.



Let me hear your thoughts in the Comment section…make sure you get an afternoon nap in so that you can stay up late to watch what will hopefully be a “historic” win for the Jets (okay not historic, but when something hasn’t happened for 3 years it is definitely note-worthy). In an attempt to do my part, I gave the BOJA Boost to Bucky for the game….because it is highly unlikely Winnipeg walks away with a win without him playing near the top of his game.



**since Eric Comrie is getting the start versus the Knights, I have put a picture of him on this article instead of Bucky so the goalie who is actually playing can take advantage of the Boost.**



Go Winnipeg!!!!!!!...

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