The Anaheim Ducks arrived in Winnipeg yesterday after 5-3 loss to the Wild on Saturday night. The Ducks are third in the Western Conference and have a tidy 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games. It's certainly far from an ideal opponent for the Jets as they attempt to win their third game in a row and first 3 game streak in some time.
#NHLJets are 1-16-2 over last two seasons when they have opportunity to win third game in a row. Will try again tonight vs Ducks
— Ted Wyman (@Ted_Wyman) January 23, 2017
That is a very special level of ineptitude.
The goaltending may be a bit of a mystery for the Ducks as Gibson did not play in Minnesota but appears to be starting tonight against the Jets. This seems odd as Winnipeg tends to see more backups based on where they are in the standings but Bernier did not appear to be so stellar in St. Paul. That being said Ducks beat reporters could not tell who was starting based on who left the ice early at the game day skate.
Patrik Laine will not be playing for the Jets tonight and in interviews seemed to suggest that he might need a few more practices. Head coach Paul Maurice said that he was an 'option' for tomorrow against San Jose.
I had made a mistake in the column yesertday regarding Petan and Copp, Maurice said both would see time with Ehlers and Scheifele. What might be interesting is how the line is constructed. Copp has primarily played centre for the Jets while being a left shot where as Petan has been on both the left wing and centre. The interesting part is Ehlers is a left shot too but in junior and parts of last season he played on his off side- will that happen with Petan or Copp?
Are you an optimist that the Jets, with Pavelec starting his third consecutive game, can bust this rut of not being able to win three games in a row? It's hard to feel positive given the opposition being faced tonight given the situation. That's not a shot at any one player as much as the team and it's inconsistent play.
Certianly at some point they have to rise up and challenge themselves as much as the opposition? Is it that night/game?
Again we can come back to wishful or hopeful questions about this team and their fortunes. Everything lately seems to be a based around hope for something good to happen. Hope is never a plan, and right now though, while things are far from a disaster hope is all fans are really holding onto and it gets fainter with each passing game.