On Sunday, the Winnipeg Jets will try to tap into the football crowd by hosting their Hockey Fights Cancer game in an afternoon matinee against the Minnesota Wild. The matchup should bring plenty of excitement, as it features two divisional rivals trending in the right direction.
Minnesota enters the game red hot after winning four straight and going 8-1-1 since the start of November. The challenge increases on the road, where they will face a Jets team that has begun to steady itself with three wins in its last five. One of the losses came with Connor Hellebuyck unavailable, forcing Eric Comrie to step in on short rest. Winnipeg will look to rebound, possibly with help from a rookie goaltender.
Lineup Storylines
Winnipeg is expected to make subtle adjustments to the lineup as Captain Adam Lowry is projected to move up to the second line, separating him from his usual partner Nino Niederreiter. Veteran center Jonathan Toews will shift to the third line while the wingers on both lines remain the same. Cole Perfetti is set to skate with Lowry in an unusual combination, and Toews will reunite with Gustav Nyquist after the pair opened the season together. Depth forward Alex Iafallo will take Nyquist’s place on the fourth line. The final defense pairing remains uncertain as the team decides between Luke Schenn and Colin Miller.
The tweaks come at a time when several players have hit rough patches with Toews going four straight games without a point, Tanner Pearson appears to be coming out of the lineup after a 13-game drought, and Nyquist, who registered an assist in Tuesday’s 5-2 win over Columbus, is still searching for his first goal of the season while currently on his worst scoring drought to start a season in his career.
Minnesota counters with its own momentum, led by star forwards in Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov. The two are not skating together at even strength, with Kaprizov on the top line beside Mats Zuccarello and Boldy on the second line with Joel Eriksson Ek, however, they do share time on the power play, where they have combined for four goals in their last ten games. They have also combined for eight goals at even strength during that stretch. Their balanced scoring threat will pose a significant challenge that Winnipeg’s defense will need to be ready for.
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Player & Betting Trends (Presented By BetMGM)
WPG ML (-125) | MIN ML (+105)
WPG -1.5 (+185) | MIN -1.5 (-227)
O/U 6.0 Goals
The Jets have won nine straight versus the Wild dating back to March of 2023 with the Winnipeg defense playing the biggest factor in all the victories. Minnesota has been able to score three or more goals in just two of those nine matchups and after giving up four goals to Carolina on Friday, we can expect the defense to respond with a bounce back effort.
Winnipeg’s lead defender in Josh Morrissey has been red hot as of late when it comes to offense, entering Sunday on a seven-game point streak and leads all defenseman in points over his last 13 games, totaling five goals and 15 assists for 20 points. He should be able to stay hot versus Minnesota, who he has a goal and 16 assists for 17 points in his last 23 games versus the Wild.
Kaprizov is the most notable Minnesota player to look out for as he’s leading the team in points with 26 in 22 games. He has a decent history versus the Jets but not as of late with points in just one of his last four matchups versus Winnipeg. He still remains the most lethal forward on the team and has six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in his prior 11 career games versus the Jets.
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Goalie Matchup
Winnipeg: Eric Comrie (Season: 4-2-0 record, 2.84 GAA, .899 SV% | VS MIN: 0-1-0 record, 4.95 GAA, .846 in two games)
Minnesota: Jesper Wallstedt (Season: 5-0-2 record, 2.20 GAA, .926 SV% | VS WPG: 0-1-0 record, 5.02 GAA, .792 SV% in one start)
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