Today we are happy to announce that Arctic Ice Hockey has joined For Hockey Fans, the first vertical launched by For Fans Sports Network, a media company created to provide fans with the content they want about their favorite teams and sports. We are so happy to be going on this journey together with some really amazing people we’ve worked with before, and are excited to be bringing you this news...

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I coach. Not hockey, but I coach. And like most coaches of any level now, I have to do the online training session developed by Sheldon Kennedy’s Respect Group called Respect in Sport. I also have to do Respect in School to work in a school, but that is a slightly different program. And honestly, of the probably five times I have done Respect in Sport, I do not think I have gained one piece of...

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Andrew Ladd announced his retirement yesterday in a post on Twitter. It was a thoughtful post about his journey in hockey. But Ladd’s legacy is not as simple as it seems and there should be questions about how effective he was as a leader. Ladd has always been talked about as a leader and it is no surprise that he was named captain of the Winnipeg Jets after the team moved to Winnipeg.

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Even though January is the start of the new year, September always feels like the start of a new year. Yes, it is autumn when things prepare for hibernation or die, but it is also the start of a new school year and hockey season. Yes, September means hockey comes out of hibernation for winter and sometimes even spring (well, always true spring, but sometimes even May spring). The Jets are a team...

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Greetings from the new and improved ArcticIceHockey.com! Arctic Ice Hockey has now joined the For Fans Sports Network! New content will be coming soon, but in the meantime here is how you can register an account and login! By clicking the link in the top right or the signup link near the comments section, users can easily create their account by filling out their email address and desired display...

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Let’s just not.

The Winnipeg Jets are coming to the end of their season, and it sure feels like that end will be game 82. The playoff hopes are rapidly fading, replaced with the reality of Nashville and Calgary steadily gaining ground on the Jets. It is so Winnipeg to squander one of the best season starts in recent memory during the home stretch. These last few months should have been a victory lap for a top-3 divisional finish. Instead, Winnipeg is on the verge of missing the post-season for a second straight season. Perhaps it is better this way.

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

I typically offer a period-by-period breakdown of games, but it’d be too much effort for a game against San Jose that was unmemorable. The only thing worth pointing out was that the Jets somehow got shutout by James Reimer, one of the worst goalies in the NHL. Winnipeg’s habit of shooting from everywhere but the low slot reared its head once again. A combination of poor line-up choices, baffling deployments, luck, and poor finishing ability took care of the rest. I genuinely look forward to the end of the season. It can’t come fast enough.

Five Takeaways

1. The offense is beyond cooked. The Jets shoot a lot, and generate little actual danger off of much of it. Where is the slot offense?
2. Bones had Ehlers out there for about 15 seconds more than the fourth line. Unacceptable. Beyond unacceptable.
3. This was Scheifele’s most “okay” game of late, and he was still a non-factor. Brother wants to be anywhere else, that much is clear.
4. Bones has lost the team and has no answers. That says it all.
5. Hope you aren’t expecting a playoff run, because there’s a good chance we won’t get it.

Here we go...

Time: 9:30 PM CST

Channel: TSN3

Radio: CJOB

Apologies for the late thread folks, the hour itself is late in these parts and I forgot to throw this up before the Winnipeg Jets do whatever it is they do against the San Jose Sharks. The game hasn’t kicked off to the best of starts, but maybe Winnipeg will surprise us! Drop your score predictions below.

Ugh.

Despite 2 recent wins, one would hardly be inclined to say the Winnipeg Jets are doing well right now. The team is barely holding on by a thread, with the season and fanbase on life support. With 8 or 9 games left in the season, every single point is going to be critical. A road match-up against the LA Kings looked like a loss from the beginning. If you had the same thought, it’s hard to say you were disappointed. Winnipeg didn’t play poorly, but a drought of goal-scoring ability and a few mediocre goals against from Hellebuyck did the Jets in.

Winnipeg started off inauspiciously, conceding a goal to Viktor Arvidsson off of a faceoff less than 2 minutes in. It’s wonderful that the Jets are mired in this habit of conceding first. Chasing the game is always an effective strategy for winning, that’s what I say! LA owned the first of the period, but slowly allowed Winnipeg to find its skating legs. The Jets had a couple of shot attempts towards Korpisalo, but enough to cause the Kings much stress.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The Jets pushed a bit more in the second period, trying to deflect as many point shots on target as humanly possible. The plan was a bit of a failure, and Winnipeg watched LA score instead. Phil Danault found Alex Iafallo on a backdoor chance for an easy power play goal. It’s so cool that other teams know how to run an NHL-calibre power play and the Jets don’t! Winnipeg managed to get a bit of a break towards the end of the second, with Blake Lizotte getting ejected after crosschecking Morrissey in the face. Josh dropped his gloves to fight and Blake skipped Go and did not collect $200. Pierre-Luc Dubois, who’s been looking a bit better recently, pounded a puck home to end Winnipeg’s power play scoreless streak.

Sadly, good things don’t last, and a bad Doughty goal from the right wall beat Hellebuyck near the start of the third. It’s a goal that just can’t go in, especially when the team around you has the finishing ability of a wet sock. To be clear, this loss is not on Hellebuyck. He just has to be dang near perfect because Winnipeg will be screwed if he isn’t. The results of even 1 or 2 mistakes were present for all to see, and the Jets conceded an empty netter to finalize the sadness.

Five Takeaways

1. The Jets are in one of the worst goal-scoring droughts we’ve seen with this team. It was a problem last year, but it’s almost comically bad right now.
2. Winnipeg is fortunate Nashville got obliterated by Seattle. The Flames, however, won their game, and are only 4 points behind the Jets. Sheesh.
3. Dubois’ interview sounded like a guy who had no answers for what’s wrong with the team. I hear you, man.
4. Bones threw his arms up at the end of the game, seemingly befuddled beyond his wildest dreams. He’s contributing to some of the problems, but many of the team’s stars just aren’t showing up.
5. The season is mercifully ending soon. I’m not sure anyone wants it to end more than Winnipeg’s players.

Time: 3:00 PM CST

Channel: TSN3

Radio: CJOB

The Winnipeg Jets are playing one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now in the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings have been running hot since the All Star Break and will definitely be a handful for the Jets to beat. The Jets have been more cold than hot since Christmas and the narrative really is beaten to death. The fact is the Jets have to make sure they keep winning to stay ahead of the Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames. Good news to them is that both those teams have been struggling to string together wins as well. Sometimes life just works out for teams. If they are in the playoffs early in the season, they are likely to stay there for most of the year.

The Kings have been on the way up for the last couple of years after they had to enter a retool following some retirements and players getting older. They have done a good job of assembling their team which is still led by Anze Kopitar. They traded Jonathan Quick away at the deadline which was truly the end of an era. The Kings have been backstopped primarily by Phoenix Copley I think (NHL data doesn’t tell me exactly). They are been getting good enough goaltending to win.

Winnipeg Jets Lineup

Forwards

Kyle Connor - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Nino Niederreiter

Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler

Vladislav Namestnikov - Adam Lowry - Mason Appleton

Morgan Barron - Kevin Stenlund - Saku Maenalanen

Defense

Josh Morrissey - Dylan DeMelo

Brendan Dillon - Neal Pionk

Dylan Samberg - Nate Schmidt

Goalies

Connor Hellebuyck (starting)

David Rittich

Los Angeles Kings Lineup

Forwards

Quinton Byfield - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe

Trevor Moore - Philip Danault - Viktor Arvidsson

Alex Iaffalo - Blake Lizotte - Gabriel Vilardi

Carl Grundstrum - Rasmus Kupari - Zack MacEwan

Defence

Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty

Vladislav Gavrikov - Matt Roy

Alexander Edler - Sean Walker

Goalies

Joonas Korpisalo (starting)

Phoenix Copley

Winnipeg did enough to see the Ducks off.

Watching the Anaheim Ducks must be excruciating for their fanbase. I know it’s all for the good of Bedard, but sweet mother of mercy are they darn near unwatchable. Not so long ago, the Winnipeg Jets were just as painful to suffer through. They’ve been better this season, though their finishing ability has apparently abandoned them at the worst possible time. Surely a match-up against the beleaguered Ducks would spark the team to glory...right?

The Jets generally looked faster and more composed in the opening minutes of the first period. Anaheim did a lot standing and staring, giving Winnipeg ample opportunities to punish them. As has often been the case with the Jets, though, they were the first to concede. Cam Fowler let a point shot go from down the middle. Hellebuyck had 4 or 5 bodies obfuscating his view, and the shot blew by him. Not ideal!

The goods about playing the Ducks is that they’ll usually give you chances to rebound. It didn’t even take a minute for Winnipeg’s reply to nestle behind Dostal’s goalie equipment. Lowry and Appleton combined to squeeze the puck through for the game-tying goal. The bottom-6 has struggled to pick up the slack for the absentee top-6 scoring. An Appleton goal felt like a minor miracle.

Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Things got even better for the Jets in period 2. Anaheim continued to be a bit of a welcome mat, allowing the Jets to pepper Dostal with chances. It took a bit longer than I’d like, but Kyle Connor finally broke his 12-game goalless streak. He and Dubois worked another greasy goal through Dostal to hand Winnipeg the first Jets lead of the night.

Nothing is ever easy for Winnipeg, and the third period saw Anaheim tying the game on a power play goal from Vatrano. Hellebuyck ideally would have stopped the shot from the point, but there’s no use crying over spilled milk. Winnipeg responded well enough a few minutes later, with Lowry redirecting a net-front puck past Dostal for the final lead change of the game. The Jets held onto their 3-2 lead and happily accepted the standings points.

Five Takeaways

1. This has to be Wheeler’s last season on the ice. It’s hard to watch him struggle to keep up in every facet of the game. Seeing his decline in real time has caused me great pain.
2. Capobianco stepped in for Samberg and did...a job. His lack of NHL footspeed is fairly noticeable when he’s under pressure. He also gave away a bad turnover that nearly ended in a goal against. Less of that, love!
3. This game was just a chore to watch, if we’re being honest. Not much happened and Winnipeg struggled to score.
4. Ehlers looked like he wanted to fire the puck to moon every time he let a shot loose. Weeks of frustration might be boiling over.
5. KFC finally scoring will hopefully break the dam.

Time: 9:00 PM CST

Channel: TSN3

Radio: CJOB

The Winnipeg Jets are playing one of the worst teams in the NHL in the Anaheim Ducks. They have lost to the Ducks this season, but the Ducks are BAD. The Jets do need to show up and play their game, but they should be the heavy favourites here. However, this is the Winnipeg Jets and they can struggle at the worst and weirdest times. With the Jets you have to be ready for anything.

The Ducks are bad. They have some good, intriguing players, but they are bad and they know it. They went into this season as a bad team to try to get Connor Bedard to turn their franchise around. They might, but the NHL Draft Lottery can be something else. Who knows how things will go.

Winnipeg Jets Lineup

Forwards

Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Nino Niederreiter

Nikolaj Ehlers - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Blake Wheeler

Vladislav Namestnikov - Adam Lowry - Mason Appleton

Morgan Barron - Kevin Stenlund - Saku Maenalanen

Defense

Josh Morrissey - Dylan DeMelo

Brendan Dillon - Neal Pionk

Kyle Capobianco - Nate Schmidt

Goalies

Connor Hellebuyck (starting)

David Rittich

Anaheim Ducks Lineup

Forwards

Frank Vatrano - Trevor Zegras - Ryan Strome

Max Jones - Mason McTavish - Troy Terry

Nikita Nesterenko - Isac Lundestrom - Jakob Silfverberg

Brock McGinn - Derek Grant - Jayson Megna

Defence

Cam Fowler - Scott Harrington

Simon Benoit - Kevin Shattenkirk

Colton White - Nathan Beaulieu

Goalies

Lukas Dostal (starting)

John Gibson

The latest in transaction news from across the NHL.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks signed defenceman Nikita Nesterenko to a three-year entry-level contract.

Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes reassigned left wingers Bokondji Imama and Milos Kelemen to AHL Tucson. They recalled Imama and defenceman Michael Kesselring. They signed centre Josh Doan to a three-year entry-level contract. They reassigned Imama and Kesselring. They recalled Kesselring. They reassigned Kesselring.

Boston Bruins

The Bruins recalled right winger Jakub Lauko from AHL Providence on an emergency basis.

Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres signed goaltender Devon Levi to a three-year entry-level contract.

Calgary Flames

The Flames acquired defenceman Kristians Rubins from Ottawa.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes recalled centre Jack Drury from AHL Chicago.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks recalled left winger Mike Hardman and right winger Buddy Robinson from AHL Rockford. They signed right winger Ryder Rolson to a three-year entry-level contract. They signed defenceman Wyatt Kaiser to a three-year entry-level contract.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche recalled centre Alex Galchenyuk from AHL Colorado.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets signed right winger Cameron Butler to a three-year entry-level contract.

Dallas Stars

The Stars signed centre Chase Wheatcroft to a three-year entry-level contract.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings recalled right winger Matt Luff from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency basis. They reassigned Luff and centre Austin Czarnik following their emergency recalls. They recalled Czarnik and defenceman Simon Edvinsson on an emergency basis. They signed defenceman Antti Tuomisto to a two-year entry-level contract starting in 2023/24.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers signed centre Jake Chiasson to a three-year entry-level contract.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers signed defenceman Mark Alscher to a three-year entry-level contract. They recalled goaltender Mack Guzda from AHL Charlotte and reassigned goaltender Alex Lyon.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings made no moves this week. Goaltender Garret Sparks, who last played in the NHL for Los Angeles in 2021/22, has signed a professional tryout contract with AHL Springfield.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild made no moves this week.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens signed defenceman Jayden Struble to a two-year entry-level contract. Centre Nick Suzuki has been fined $2500 for cross-checking Florida’s Anton Lundell.

Nashville Predators

The Predators signed centre Mark Jankowski to a one-year contract extension. They recalled defenceman Kevin Gravel from AHL Milwaukee and reassigned right winger Michael McCarron. They recalled McCarron and reassigned left winger Egor Afanasyev. They recalled Afanasyev. They recalled defenceman Jordan Gross.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils recalled left winger Nolan Foote from AHL Utica.

New York Islanders

The Islanders made no moves this week.

New York Rangers

The Rangers made no moves this week.

Ottawa Senators

The Senators recalled centre Ridly Greig from AHL Belleville. They recalled goaltender Dylan Ferguson and reassigned goaltender Kevin Mandolese.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers recalled goaltender Samuel Ersson from AHL Lehigh Valley and recalled right winger Tyson Foerster on an emergency basis. They reassigned Ersson.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins recalled defenceman Mark Friedman from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks recalled right winger Martin Kaut from AHL San Jose. They recalled left winger Andrew Agozzino and reassigned centre William Eklund.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken recalled centre John Hayden from AHL Coachella Valley.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues recalled goaltender Joel Hofer from AHL Springfield on an emergency basis. They reassigned centre Nikita Alexandrov and defenceman Tyler Tucker. Goaltender Jordan Binnington has been suspended two games for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct against Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning made no moves this week.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs signed centre Ryan Tverberg to a three-year entry-level contract. They recalled centre Bobby McMann and goaltender Joseph Woll.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks signed left winger Aidan McDonough to a two-year entry-level contract.

Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights made no moves this week.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals recalled left winger Joe Snively from AHL Hershey. They reassigned Snively. They recalled goaltender Zach Fucale.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets made no moves this week.

The latest in NHL injury and suspension news. All information from SportsForecaster.com.

Anaheim Ducks

March 15: Goaltender Anthony Stolarz has been sidelined for the remainder of the regular season due to knee surgery.

Arizona Coyotes

March 14: Right winger Christian Fischer is back after missing one game with a lower-body injury. Defenceman Patrik Nemeth is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

March 16: Defenceman Josh Brown is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Defenceman Patrik Nemeth is back after missing one game with a lower-body injury.

March 18: Left winger Nick Schmaltz is back after missing three games with a lower-body injury.

Boston Bruins

March 13: Right winger Jakub Lauko has been recalled from AHL Providence on an emergency basis.

March 14: Defenceman Brandon Carlo is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Hampus Lindholm is back after missing one game with a foot injury.

March 16: Brandon Carlo is back after missing one game with an undisclosed injury. Defenceman Derek Forbort is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Buffalo Sabres

March 13: Right winger Alex Tuch is back after missing eight games with a lower-body injury.

Calgary Flames

No injury news for Calgary this week.

Carolina Hurricanes

March 14: Left winger Andrei Svechnikov has been sidelined for the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury.

March 15: Left winger Andrei Svechnikov has been placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.

March 17: Defenceman Jalen Chatfield is back after missing four games with an upper-body injury.

Chicago Blackhawks

March 13: Goaltender Alex Stalock is back after missing two games with an illness. Left winger Austin Wagner is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Centre Cole Guttman has been sidelined indefinitely due to shoulder surgery. Defenceman Connor Murphy is back after missing two games for personal reasons.

March 16: Right winger Colin Blackwell has been sidelined indefinitely with a groin injury.

Colorado Avalanche

March 14: Left winger Artturi Lehkonen has been sidelined indefinitely with a broken finger.

Columbus Blue Jackets

No injury news for Columbus this week.

Dallas Stars

March 14: Centre Luke Glendening is back after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury. Left winger Mason Marchment is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

March 16: Left winger Mason Marchment has been sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

Detroit Red Wings

March 13: Right winger Matt Luff has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency basis.

March 15: Centre Austin Czarnik has been reassigned to AHL Grand Rapids following his emergency recall. Right winger Matt Luff has been reassigned to AHL Grand Rapids following his emergency recall.

March 16: Defenceman Ben Chiarot is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

March 17: Centre Austin Czarnik has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency basis. Defenceman Simon Edvinsson has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency basis.

March 18: Defenceman Gustav Lindstrom is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

Edmonton Oilers

March 14: Left winger Zach Hyman is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

March 16: Centre Ryan McLeod is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

March 18: Left winger Zach Hyman is back after missing two games with an undisclosed injury.

Florida Panthers

No injury news for Florida this week.

Los Angeles Kings

No injury news for Los Angeles this week.

Minnesota Wild

March 13: Left winger Marcus Foligno is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

March 15: Defenceman Jake Middleton is day-to-day with an illness.

March 19: Right winger Brandon Duhaime is back after missing seven games with a head injury. Defenceman Jake Middleton is back after missing two games with an illness. Defenceman Jonas Brodin is back after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury.

Montreal Canadiens

March 14: Defenceman Justin Barron is back after missing six games with an upper-body injury.

March 15: Centre Christian Dvorak has been sidelined for the remainder of the regular season due to knee surgery.

March 17: Centre Nick Suzuki has been fined $2500 for cross-checking Florida’s Anton Lundell.

March 18: Defenceman Kaiden Guhle is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Nashville Predators

March 14: Right winger Luke Evangelista is back after missing one game with an upper-body injury. Defenceman Ryan McDonagh is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

March 19: Defenceman Roman Josi is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

New Jersey Devils

March 14: Right winger Nathan Bastian is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

March 16: Left winger Miles Wood is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

March 19: Right winger Curtis Lazar is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

New York Islanders

March 14: Centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau is back after missing 12 games with an upper-body injury.

March 18: Right winger Josh Bailey is day-to-day with an illness.

New York Rangers

No injury news for the Rangers this week.

Ottawa Senators

March 14: Left winger Mathieu Joseph is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Left winger Parker Kelly is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Defenceman Thomas Chabot is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

March 16: Defenceman Thomas Chabot is back after missing one game with an undisclosed injury.

Philadelphia Flyers

March 14: Left winger Brendan Lemieux is back after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. Goaltender Carter Hart is day-to-day with an illness. Right winger Tyson Foerster has been recalled from AHL Lehigh Valley on an emergency basis.

March 17: Goaltender Carter Hart is back after missing one game with an illness. Right winger Wade Allison is back after missing three games with an undisclosed injury.

Pittsburgh Penguins

March 14: Defenceman Dmitry Kulikov has been sidelined indefinitely with a lower-body injury.

March 15: Defenceman Dmitry Kulikov has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

March 16: Centre Ryan Poehling is back after missing 15 games with an upper-body injury.

March 18: Defenceman Jan Rutta is is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Defenceman Jeff Petry is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Centre Nick Bonino has been placed on injured reserve with a kidney injury.

San Jose Sharks

March 18: Right winger Evgeny Svechnikov is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

Seattle Kraken

No injury news for Seattle this week.

St. Louis Blues

March 16: Goaltender Joel Hofer has been recalled from AHL Springfield on an emergency basis. Goaltender Jordan Binnington has been suspended two games for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct against Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman.

Tampa Bay Lightning

March 14: Centre Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is back after missing four games with a lower-body injury. Centre Steven Stamkos is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

March 16: Centre Stevem Stamkos is back after missing one game with a lower-body injury.

Toronto Maple Leafs

March 15: Defenceman Luke Schenn is back after missing three games for personal reasons.

March 18: Goaltender Ilya Samsonov is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

Vancouver Canucks

March 18: Defenceman Ethan Bear is back after missing eight games with an upper-body injury.

Vegas Golden Knights

No injury news for Vegas this week.

Washington Capitals

March 14: Left winger Alex Ovechkin is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Left winger Sonny Milano is day-to-day with an illness.

March 15: Left winger Alex Ovechkin is back after missing one game with a lower-body injury.

March 17: Defenceman Nick Jensen is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Left winger Sonny Milano is back after missing two games with an illness.

March 19: Goaltender Darcy Kuemper is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Winnipeg Jets

March 16: Defenceman Josh Morrissey is back after missing two games with a lower-body injury. Centre Sam Gagner has been sidelined for the remainder of the regular season due to hip surgery.

March 18: Centre Pierre-Luc Dubois is back after missing five games with an upper-body injury.

Winnipeg played half a game and managed to win.

The vibes are not with the Winnipeg Jets right now. The team and fanbase seem to be in varying levels of disengaged. A mixture of poor finishing, a lack of high-danger chance creation, and puzzling line-up choices have left Winnipeg with its back to the wall. Against a resurgent Arizona Coyotes team, the Jets were gifted a golden opportunity for a bounce-back effort. What unfolded was quite a lot less reassuring...

Winnipeg kicked the game off looking slower than expected. Arizona pressured the Jets and had a few decent early shots on target. The Jets responded with a few potshots of their own, but not enough to put Karel Vejmelka under pressure. The Yotes thought they might hit paydirt first, until Nik Ehlers punched through their defensive line for a breakaway. The crafty Dane collected his own rebound and deposited it past Vejmelka for the 1-0 lead.

Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images

As if to rub salt on the wound, Adam Lowry combined with Morgan Barron (Voltron-style) to score a shorthanded goal. How on gord’s green earth is the PK more offensively-dangerous than the PP? Whatever strange magic Winnipeg conjured to get a Lowry shorthanded marker, we can only hope there’s still some magic left for the post-season.

If you expected the Yotes to try and mount a comeback, you’d be right. Arizona utterly dominated the Jets in the second period, skating circles around Winnipeg’s sluggish puck and player movement. Connor Hellebuyck had to make a few dandy saves, including a miraculous goal-line block with his stick after he was caught out of his net. Eventually, Barrett Hayton notched a rebound opportunity to restore Arizona’s hopes of victory.

Hellebuyck utterly dashed those hopes against a pile of rocks. The veteran netminder stood on his head to deliver Winnipeg two massive standings points. With the Preds and Flames both winning, this was a must-have result. It wasn’t pretty, and it leaves us with more lingering questions, but a win is a win.

Five Takeaways

1. Dubois, Scheifele, and Connor look checked out and/or lost. Some of the recent speculation around Scheifele certainly has me considering his future after this season.
2. Barron is a very good middle-6 player, and somehow saw almost no ice-time. Not good enough, man.
3. The Jets PP is about as effective as shoving milk-soaked loaves of bread into my eyes and asking me to paint the Mona Lisa. It makes about as much sense as that visualization I just provided, and somehow scores even less.
4. Hellebuyck is the bees knees, and it’ll be utterly crushing when he walks in free agency. Prepare yourselves...
5. Brad Lambert continues to shred the WHL. At least the future has a bright spot or two!

Time: 7:00 PM CST

Channel: TSN3

Radio: CJOB

The Winnipeg Jets are playing one of the worst team in the league in another important game for their playoff push tonight. The Arizona Coyotes are terrible. They entered this season planning to tank and tank they have. The Jets will be hoping they are on form as the Jets continue their push to secure a playoff spot. While the Jets have been limping along for a while now, so have all the other teams in contention for the wildcard spot, so the Jets are in a decent place. However, a lot can change in the NHL even though it is likely the other teams will simply run out of real estate.

Winnipeg Jets Lineup

Forwards

Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Nino Niederreiter

Nikolaj Ehlers - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Blake Wheeler

Vladislav Namestnikov - Adam Lowry - Mason Appleton

Morgan Barron - Kevin Stenlund - Saku Maenalanen

Defense

Josh Morrissey - Dylan DeMelo

Brendan Dillon - Neal Pionk

Dylan Samberg - Nate Schmidt

Goalies

Connor Hellebuyck (starting)

David Rittich

Arizona Coyotes Lineup

Forwards

Nick Schmaltz - Barrett Hayton - Clayton Keller

Mattias Macelli - Jack McBain - Lawson Crouse

Brett Ritchie - Travis Boyd - Christian Fischer

Liam O’Brien - Laurent Dauphin - Zach Kassian

Defence

Juuso Valimacki - Michael Kesselring

Patrik Nemeth - J.J. Moser

Connor Mackey - Victor Soderstrom

Goalies

Karel Vejmalka (starting)

Connor Ingram?

Winnipeg won the biggest must-win game of the season.

The Winnipeg Jets can hear the countdown ticking away. The playoffs are fast approaching, and the Jets are fighting tooth and nail to hang on to a post-season berth. The last few months have been quite rocky, with Hellebuyck looking mortal and the offense forgetting how to score. It all set up a crucial road match-up with the Nashville Predators, the one team Winnipeg is trying to fend off for the second wild card. Could the Jets rally for a massive win?

Winnipeg faced adversity early, with native son Cody Glass deflecting a puck past Hellebuyck just over 5 minutes in to give the Preds the lead. The Jets had to shake off the goal quickly, and peppered Saros with plenty of shots at the other end. As has been the case far too often, though, Winnipeg could not find particularly dangerous looks to put Saros under serious pressure. Nashville was content to let the Jets fire from range, and the combination of shot blocks and Saros did enough to keep Winnipeg off the board.

Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The second period saw the Jets continuing to try and find a sign of life. By this point, Winnipeg had nearly double the Preds in shots. Nashville’s goaltending and defense, however, kept the Jets to the perimeter regions. The precious low slot area remained unexploitable, and it felt like the game was slowly slipping away. For such a dominant and controlled effort, it scarcely felt like the Jets had the kind of control they needed.

In the potentially season-defining third period, Winnipeg finally hit paydirt. Nik Ehlers sent a puck into orbit over Saros’ shoulder, evening the game. Winnipeg’s habit of costly errors, sadly, saw Nashville steal the lead right back. Pionk got worked over along the walls and coughed up the puck, allowing Luke Evangelista to put the Preds in the driver’s seat again. Just when all hope was lost, Adam Lowry finally scored a goal off of a faceoff to get Winnipeg tied up. Both teams would have to wait until overtime to figure out who was getting the extra point. Mercifully, it was Winnipeg who ended up prevailing. Pionk, the lead culprit on both Nashville goals, deposited a PLD rebound to seal the deal.

Five Takeaways

1. Winnipeg’s finishing desperately needs a boost right now. They managed to edge past Nashville in this one, but the goalscoring is so dry right now.
2. Barron continues to put in some very nice shifts. I’m growing to be a big fan of his.
3. Pionk managed to partially atone for his grievous errors, but that still won’t cover for the mare of a game he had.
4. It wasn’t the cleanest outing, but the Jets ended up with both points. This could be the most important win of the year.
5. There’s a lot of work left to be done, so Winnipeg cannot relax for a second. Buckle up folks. The next few weeks will be hairy.

If there was ever a time to look in the rear-view mirror, it would be now.

Time: 1:00 PM CDT

Channel: TSN3

Radio: CJOB

The Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators are playing again and this game has real playoff implications to it. The Predators are four points behind the Jets for the final Wild Card spot with three games in hand. This is a typical four point game late in the season and one that should be easy for both teams to get up for.

The Predators are not the most consistent team in the world. While they have been winning some games since trading away key players at the deadline, they are still inconsistent which should make this game fun because the Jets are also inconsistent. If anything this game should be between two teams who really need the win and also really need to get back on the winning track if they are going to make the playoffs (Nashville) or are going to hold off teams trying to make the playoffs (Winnipeg).

Winnipeg Jets Lineup

Forwards

Nikolaj Ehlers - Mark Scheifele - Nino Niederreiter

Kyle Connor - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Blake Wheeler

Vladislav Namestnikov - Adam Lowry - Mason Appleton

Morgan Barron - Kevin Stenlund - Saku Maenalanen

Defense

Josh Morrissey - Dylan DeMelo

Brendan Dillon - Neal Pionk

Dylan Samberg - Nate Schmidt

Goalies

Connor Hellebuyck (starting)

David Rittich

Nashville Predators Lineup

Forwards

Philip Tomasino - Cody Glass - Matt Duchene

Kiefer Sherwood - Thomas Novak - Luke Evangelista

Yakov Trenin - Colton Sissons - Cole Smith

Rasmus Asplund - Michael McCarron - Mark Jankowski

Defence

Roman Josi - Dante Fabbro

Jeremy Lauzon - Tyson Barrie

Kevin Gravel - Cal Foote

Goalies

Juuse Saros (starting)

Kevin Lankinen

It could have been worse!

The Winnipeg Jets have had quite the run of difficult opponents over the last week, but Thursday evening saw the best team in the NHL enter Canada Life Centre. The Boston Bruins, on pace for one of the greatest regular seasons in league history, awaited a beleaguered Jets team hoping for a signature win. Winnipeg regrettably fell short in a 3-0 shutout, but the effort was certainly there.

Winnipeg’s outing got off to a bit of a tumultuous start. Boston scored on a Trent Frederic goal less than a minute in, courtesy of a blown coverage between Schmidt and Connor. I’m not sure why both skaters were marking the same puck-carrier, but Frederic simply walked down mainstreet to an easy goal. The Jets were shaken, but rallied quickly to try and get back into the game. Winnipeg pushed the pace and tried to stretch the ice against a sleepier-looking Boston team. Again, however, the fates intervened. Pavel Zacha caught the Jets on a counter and nailed a bar-down blister over Hellebuyck’s shoulder. Just like that, Winnipeg was in an early 2-0 hole.

Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images

After failing to grab a goal in the first period, the Jets were hoping the middle frame would be more hospitable. Winnipeg tried all manner of shot attempts, from faceoff circle blasts to tipped point shots. The Bruins closed the low slot off and made space in front of Swayman a premium. The Jets have been notoriously poor against well-positioned blocks and traps. The slot defense was no different, with Winnipeg unable to find much of anything in dangerous areas. The best chances fell to Scheifele and Connor, including an empty net look that Scheifele probably thought was goal-bound. Instead, a timely stick scooped the puck away and kept the Jets off the board.

Winnipeg spent the last 20 minutes of regulation alternating between attempts to break down Boston’s defense, and fending off Boston’s faster late-game counters. The Bruins had woken up by this point, and their crisp puck movement made life difficult for the Jets defense. Boston did enough to preserve the shutout and outplayed Winnipeg, but it was a reasonably close effort from the Jets. My main concern is that Winnipeg is still struggling to find scoring opportunities in the low slot area. It was a problem against Minnesota, and showed up again versus the Bruins. Hopefully, the team can rally ahead of the season-defining match-up with Nashville tomorrow.

Five Takeaways

1. This certainly wasn’t an awful game, but it felt like Boston could coast off of a strong defensive effort while the Jets spun wheels trying to score. Winnipeg misses Perfetti and Dubois dearly.
2. Morrissey didn’t look very good at all. At this point, Winnipeg may need to consider shutting him down for a short bit so he’ll be good to go towards the end of the season.
3. Scheifele and Connor had a better outing than the Canes game, but both still aren’t putting it altogether when the team needs them most. Helly can’t score goals for this team. Ehlers, typically Winnipeg’s best attacker, had a pretty wretched evening. It was clear he was fighting the puck the whole game.
4. The bottom-6 is an offensive black hole. Gagner going out for the season is a huge bummer, since his vision and shooting have been very effective in a limited role.
5. Saturday’s game against the Preds could ultimately decide who retains the final Wild Card spot. Cross your fingers!

Time: 7:00 PM CST

Channel: TSN3

Radio: CJOB

The Winnipeg Jets are back home and playing the Boston Bruins. They will not have a still injured Pierre-Luc Dubois and Same Gagner who is out for the season (only a few more games) with a hip injury. The Jets are a bit of a shell of themselves, but also have been winning against recently. It remains to be seen if they will be able to continue their win streak against the top team in the East, but they could.

The Bruins are a formidable force of skill and brute. They are the type of team most of the NHL would kill for and the Bruins have had one for years. Why do good things come to Boston sports fans, things were better when they only got bad things.

Now, your pregame entertainment. I am sure the fine people of Winnipeg will have no fun with this whatsoever.

Winnipeg Jets Lineup

Forwards

Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Nino Niederreiter

Nikolaj Ehlers - Vladislav Namestnikov - Blake Wheeler

Morgan Barron - Adam Lowry - Mason Appleton

David Gustafsson - Kevin Stenlund - Saku Maenalanen

Defense

Dylan Samberg - Dylan DeMelo

Brendan Dillon - Neal Pionk

Kyle Capobianco - Nate Schmidt

Goalies

Connor Hellebuyck (starting)

David Rittich

Boston Bruins Lineup

Forwards

Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Jake DeBrusk

Pavel Zacha - David Krejci - David Pastrnak

Tyler Bertuzzi - Charlie Coyle - Trent Frederic

A.J. Greer - Tomas Nosek - Garnet Hathaway

Defence

Matt Grzelyk - Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm - Dmitry Orlov

Derek Forbort - Brandon Carlo

Goalies

Jeremy Swayman (starting)

Linus Ullmark

Whelp.

The Winnipeg Jets have an uncanny ability to stand in the way of their own success. Whether it’s mediocre roster management, suboptimal line-ups, bad coaching, or poor play on the ice, it feels like the Jets are constantly fighting self-inflicted demons. Those demons manifested in a big way against the Carolina Hurricanes. No one will suggest this was an easy game, but the Jets played well enough for much of it to earn a point. Unfortunately, bad goaltending, a horrendous number of turnovers, and a nonexistent first line killed Winnipeg’s hopes.

Things started off tentatively, with the Jets and Canes both looking to avoid an early blunder. When it comes to avoiding mistakes, we all know Winnipeg virtually never wins these stare-downs. The Jets blinked first, with Brendan Dillon backhanding a pass right to a Carolina skater. Jaccob Slavin punished Winnipeg’s folly, much to the annoyance of Jets fans in attendance. Winnipeg struggled to generate much offensively, looking to create off of rush counters.

Photo by Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The second period kicked off in bizarre fashion. Dylan Samberg caught Jordan Martinook with a shoulder check near the blueline, injuring Martinook. It all led to a scrum near the right faceoff circle, but the whistle never blew. Dylan DeMelo decided to seize the initiative and drove down the ice with possession while everyone was distracted. He calmly picked his corner on a 2-on-1, tying the game in bewildering fashion. The Canes had their revenge scarcely 30 seconds later, with Brady Skjei picking his own corner to restore Carolina’s lead. Jesperi Kotkaniemi added to the Canes lead near the halfway point, beating Rittich on a wraparound that Dave really should have had.

The final period of action was frantic. Winnipeg was chasing the game, and the second line looked the most likely to get the Jets back in it. Ehlers did his thing and deposited a Wheeler pass behind Andersen, bringing the Jets to within a goal. It felt like Winnipeg might actually pull the comeback off....that is, until a Stenlund backpass caught Pionk off-guard. Neal missed the puck and watched as Jack Drury blasted it by Rittich. Nino Niederreiter did his best to get the Jets back on track with a third Winnipeg goal, but the damage was already done. Winnipeg fell 5-3 after an empty-netter crushed the last hopes and dreams of Jets fans everywhere.

Five Takeaways

1. The first line was so bad, Bones legitimately benched them for nearly half a period. I’ve never seen a Jets coach do that with an entire group before, but it was justified. I didn’t like the solution of putting Appleton up top in place of Nino, but it is what it is.
2. Kyle Connor is a black hole on the ice when he isn’t scoring. It wasn’t as bad at the start of this season, but the last month has been utterly disastrous for him.
3. Barron, Nino, and Namestnikov continue to do well for the Jets. Barron, in particular, seems like he’d be worth promoting a bit further up the line-up.
4. Rittich just doesn’t cut it as the back-up. I know he’s not expected to play a lot, but the Jets really shouldn’t cheap out on the #2 going forward.
5. I am running out of ways to say Pionk is having a mare.