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Canada’s most beloved and hated team whirls into town tonight for what could very well become an offensive extraordinaire. Carrying a record of 12-5-1 since making former Toronto Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe the top dog behind the bench, and moving up into second place in the Atlantic, the Leafs now appear to be that which they were supposed to.
Neither of these teams have trouble scoring as evidenced by the 3.54 goals per game average the Leafs are sporting. That’s good for third in the league behind just the recently defeated Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Winnipeg, in comparison, is currently sitting at 15th with an average of 3.08. Not too shabby.
I think it might be safe to expect this one to look a bit similar to the last one, with tire tread all over the neutral zone and fewer board battles. Both teams have substantial abilities to execute in these conditions however, both teams also have All-Star goalies. Should be fun.
A good chunk of the Maple Leafs offense is being generated on the powerplay, with a conversion rate 24.1%, good for 5th in the league. The Jets, on the other hand, come in 15th with a respectable 19.2% success rate. Looking at the penalty for each team and we see even more similarities, with the Jets dead last in the league with a kill rate of 71.4%. Pretty drab, and yet, there are the Leafs just a few spots ahead at 26th with a successful kill rate of 75.8%. We’ll probably see a couple go in during the special teams play.
With the loss of Nathan Beaulieu to a lower body injury that will keep him out for at least a month, the time is now for the recalled Sami Niku. Will we see him play tonight? I hope so.
#NHLJets have recalled Sami Niku from the @ManitobaMoose.
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) January 2, 2020
DETAILS: https://t.co/3J0xodziKV
As for Gustafsson, at the time of this writing, it appears that his team will also move on as they have a 4 spot in the 3rd versus the hometown Czechs. He hasn’t had the offensive impact that maybe we hoped but, he’s certainly looking like a mature and responsible player in a tournament that doesn’t always encourage that type of play. He remains pointless in the current game, having managed 2 assists in the 4 games prior.
Finally, I would like to draw some attention to the Hockey Talks mental wellness campaign which will be running through the month of January. To participate in the awareness, fans can post pictures of themselves via social media with the hashtag #HockeyTalks.
#NHLJets build awareness for mental wellness through "Hockey Talks" throughout the month of January.
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) January 2, 2020
DETAILS: https://t.co/tPU9ealzPk
It's going to be a LOUD building tonight with all the Leafs lackeys in attendance. For those attending the game, let’s hear the Go Jets Go roar louder than whatever those marauders have planned.
Game on!