On Thursday, the Winnipeg Jets will look to build off one of their best wins of the season to date after taking down the Vancouver Canucks 5-3 on Tuesday in a complete team effort with four of their five goals coming from other outlets than the team’s lethal top line. They’ll look to stay hot and build off the win when taking on the Seattle Kraken in the final stop on their road trip.
The Kraken have continually taken two steps forward followed by two steps back as they’ve dropped two straight entering their matchup versus the Jets after winning two of their prior three games. It’ll be the 14th all-time meeting between the two clubs and it should be a good one as both teams are looking for a big win to propel them in the right direction.
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Lineup Storylines
After lengthy scoring droughts from several of their players, the Jets had a lot of their ice cold players take out their frustrations in their win on Tuesday with Jonathan Toews, Alex Iafallo, Nino Niederreiter and captain Adam Lowry all record much needed points.
The focus now turns to defenseman Neal Pionk and forward Tanner Pearson, who remain mired in lengthy scoring droughts at six and 12 games without a point, respectively. Both are consistent 30-plus point producers and are expected to break out eventually, but Thursday’s matchup against a defensively strong Kraken team presents another tough test.
Seattle owns the eighth-best defense in the league with a goals against per game average of 2.75, which improves to fourth-best in the NHL at home, where it drops to a 2.38 average. This will make things difficult for the Jets, who hold a solid 5-3-0 road record but whose offense has only narrowly outscored their defense 23 to 20 this season.
Winnipeg may need to lean on its elite defensive play to pull out a win, as the Jets currently have the sixth-best road defense in the league, tied with the LA Kings and Vegas Golden Knights, with a 2.50 goals against per game average. It should help that they are expected to get back key top four defenseman Dylan Samberg as many reports indicate, he’s slated to make his season debut on Thursday alongside longtime defense partner Neal Pionk.
The Kraken are still searching for a true offensive breakout this season, as no player is averaging a point per game. Their closest contributors are veteran forwards Jordan Eberle and Jaden Schwartz, each with 11 points through 16 games. Franchise cornerstones Matty Beniers and Shane Wright have started to find their rhythm recently, with Beniers posting nine points in 16 games and Wright coming off a pair of strong performances, including scoring the overtime winner against the St. Louis Blues last Saturday.
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The Jets have historically dominated this matchup, boasting a 10-3-0 all-time record against the Kraken and winning five of the past six meetings. Even playing in Seattle hasn’t slowed them down, as Winnipeg has claimed victory in five of six contests in the Emerald City. Most of these games have been tight, low-scoring affairs, with only five of the 13 all-time matchups producing six or more total goals.
Despite their reputation as a defensive powerhouse, the Jets have been involved in higher-scoring games on the road this season, with half of those contests featuring seven or more total goals. Meanwhile, the defensively disciplined Kraken have hit the six-goal mark in just two of their eight home games.
Another defensive battle appears likely, with top blue liners Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk anchoring the Jets against Seattle’s pairing of Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour. Interestingly, if offense does emerge, it may well come from the back end, as Morrissey has recorded one goal and eight assists for nine points in 13 career games versus the Kraken, while Dunn and Montour have each tallied nine points this season to rank among Seattle’s top scorers.
The most dangerous player in this matchup, however, has been Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor, who has torched the Kraken for eight goals and eight assists in 13 career games, including five multi point performances.
Goalie Matchup
Winnipeg: Connor Hellebuyck Expected (Season: 7-5-0 record, 2.35 GAA, .921 SV% | VS SEA: 4-2-0 record, 2.12 GAA, .916 SV% in seven games)
Seattle: Matt Murray Expected (Season: 0-2-1 record, 2.12 GAA, .926 SV% | VS WPG: 3-5-1 record, 3.52 GAA, .885 SV% in nine games)
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