On Wednesday, the Winnipeg Jets look to again rebound from a troubling loss, losing 5-1 to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. They look to get back in the win column when traveling to Montreal to take on a rising Habs team that will give the Jets everything they can handle as they try to battle back into the playoff picture.
Winnipeg is looking to do the same after their recent league-worst stretch where they have the worst record in the NHL over their last 13 games at 4-9-0 with their offense sinking, averaging 2.38 goals per game.
The top line of superstars in Gabe Vilardi, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor have been forced to carry the load, scoring a combined nine of Winnipeg’s last 13 goals. Several Jets are on horrid skids and they look to finally find an answer against a Habs team that has a 7-7-3 record with the league’s worst defense, averaging 4.06 goals against per game over their last 17 games.
Lineup Storylines
The biggest question mark in the lineup since the injury to league MVP Connor Hellebuyck. Backup Eric Comrie and rookie Thomas Milic have been doing their best to steady the crease but have been unsuccessful so far.
Comrie has started six of Winnipeg’s last seven games with just two wins and 21 goals allowed to show for it. Milic has shown promise, stepping in under tough conditions like against the top seed in the East in the Carolina Hurricanes for his NHL debut followed by a Sabres team that scored three goals on 14 shots and chased Comrie out of the net. They’ll need to find a steady hand going forward with the likely move being Milic for Wednesday’s action.
It’s expected that defenseman Neal Pionk will make his return to the lineup after missing four games with a lower body injury. The key top four blueliner will be able to help midigate chances and give one of these netminders a better chance to be successful
Winnipeg bench boss Scott Arneil has been looking for a solution on the offense as well, juggling the lines in recent weeks in the hopes of generating a spark somewhere in their ice cold lineup. Forwards in Jonathan Toews, Vladislav Namestnikov, Gustav Nyquist and Alex Iafallo are all riding lengthy scoring slumps and will look for a big bounce back game when playing in one of the sports most famous venues in the Bell Centre.
Jets Searching For Answers As Depth Scoring Struggles Fuel Six-Game Slide
The Jets have lost five of six as their top line carries the offense and the rest of the forwards struggle.
The Jets are expected to roll the same lines as Monday’s matchup versus Buffalo with the top unit staying the same while Toews centers Namestnikov and the young Cole Perfetti on the second line with Perfetti starting to come along since returning from injury. The hope is that the 23-year-old can spark some offense out of his two ice cold linemates. In the bottom of the lineup, everything remains the same with veteran winger Gustav Nyquist looking to end his career-worst 20-game goal drought to open the season when playing alongside the early season breakout in Morgan Barron and Cole Koepke on the bottom line.
For Montreal, they are also struggling on the backend with no clear starter between the pipes with regular starting goaltender Samuel Montembeault severely struggling this season with a 5-6-1 record along with a 3.61 goals against average (GAA). Backup Jakub Dobes has a better 8-3-2 record but still a lackluster 3.22 GAA on the season. The two question marks in both creases on Wednesday could mean a high-scoring shootout that both will entertain both passionate fan bases.
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Goalie Matchup
Winnipeg: Thomas Milic Expected (Season: 0-1-0 record, 3.64 GAA, .882 SV% | First Game vs MTL)
Montreal: Jakub Dobes Expected (Season: 8-3-2 record, 3.22 GAA, .888 SV% | First Game vs WPG)
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