WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets will face another Central Division rival this afternoon at 5 CT at Canada Life Centre.
The Jets (35-15-5) have won five of their past six games and are coming off a 3-2 win in Chicago. Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes come into the Manitoba capital winless in their last 11 (0-10-1) games. But don’t expect the Jets to be looking past the Coyotes especially with how tough the bottom ranked teams have played them this season.
Arizona hasn’t played since Wednesday when they lost 6-3 at home to Toronto.
"Yeah, they've lost 11 in a row, and we beat them 6-2 in there earlier in the month, so yeah. They'll be hungry. They'll be coming hard. And they are rested,” said Rick Bowness.
“Listen, they're a good hockey team. They had a great start. They've gone through some tough times, but they've got a good coaching staff that will keep pushing them and they've had some tough breaks in those 11 games.”
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There will be no morning skate today with the early start time and Bowness told the media yesterday that Nate Schmidt would come into the lineup for Logan Stanley and Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal.
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Just over a week ago in Vancouver, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabe Vilardi put on a show leading the Jets to a 4-2 win over the then first place overall Canucks. They have been pretty quiet since that night, but Connor was the overtime hero in Chicago on Friday night.
“They know they were a little bit off last night (Friday) but then they go and win the game for us, right?” said Bowness.
“They can be better, and they know that, and they've been off a little bit but the game here, against Minnesota, they got three goals, two of them on the power play, so they're doing that job. Can they tighten it up a little bit? Yeah, they can. And they know that."
Cole Perfetti will remain on the fourth line with Vladislav Namestnikov and Morgan Barron. The 22-year-old has had success with Namestnikov in the past and the trio played well in Chicago on Friday night.
“I thought it was pretty good. You know, me and Vladdy play well together. We’ve played a lot together this year. Bears, he works so hard and creates so much space, a big body. He’s a smart player, so he’s in the right spot. He can help out with the physical aspect, he’s so strong and so big,” said Perfetti.
“Then hopefully me and Vladdy can make some plays. I thought we gelled together pretty good. That was a good start. I enjoyed playing with them. It was good.”
Sunday’s game is the second game of a stretch in which they play 21 games in a span of 39 days. The stretch includes three back-to-back sets, which are all on the road.
“I mean it’s always this time of the season, you just have to try and forget about it,” said Alex Iafallo.
“I guess just get ready for the next game, you know, it’s obviously every other day so you gotta prepare whether just doing extra workouts, stretching, instead of skating.”
The Jets are part of a three-horse race for first place in the NHL’s Central Division. Winnipeg is three points behind the Dallas Stars and tied with the Colorado Avalanche, both have 75 points. The Jets have four games in-hand on both teams.
