The Calgary Flames (1-5-0) are at the bottom of the NHL basement and now they will come back home to take on last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners Winnipeg Jets (4-1-0).
This might seem like a match-up the Flames would prefer as the Jets are dead last in Expected Goal For (xGF) in even-strength situations at 8.14, however Winnipeg did score 14 goals out of their opportunities. That is tied for seventh in the league.
Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele, who has scored nine points, has notched at least a point in every one of the Jets’ five games while simultaneously currently being on a four-game goal-scoring streak.
His line partner Kyle Connor, who is not far behind with eight points scored a hat-trick in the Jets opener, before going on four-game assist-streak that is still active.
Together with Gabriel Vilardi, this line has played the fifth-most time on the ice (59:31) in the league this season in 5v5 hockey. While they have an on-ice Expected Goal Percentage (xG%) of 39.25%, their actual Goals For Percentage (GF%) is 66.7, demonstrating the on-ice shooting efficiency of this line.
On the other hand, Calgary has scored the lowest goals in the league at six, and have the fifth-lowest xGF value.
On defence, the pairing of MacKenzie Weegar and Joel Hanley is ranked sixth for the lowest Expected Goals Against (xGA) with a value of 2.58 for pairings that have registered at least 60 minutes of even-strength hockey. Here’s the bad news: The actual goals given up on those opportunities is six…
Right beneath them at seventh is the pairing of Winnipeg’s Dylan DeMelo and John Morrisey. They have an xGA value of 2.63 while giving up only two goals.
See how that reflects on their current season records?
Perhaps the biggest threat from the Jets is the one in their net, goalie Connor Hellebuyck. He was the Hart Trophy winner last season and has his eyes set on not just a Stanley Cup, but also Olympic gold medal.
The key for the Jets has been shooting efficiency. It’s been the opposite for the Flames where they’ve given up goals in low-danger scoring opportunities.
This needs to be a game where Calgary turns it around.
