DALLAS - The Winnipeg Jets begin a three-game road trip tonight with a battle for top spot in the Central Division.
The Jets (37-15-5) have won four games in a row to tie the Dallas Stars for top spot, but Winnipeg holds four games in hand. A 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday gave the Jets a perfect home stand (with two victories) and 21 wins on home ice - the second most in the National Hockey League.
Tonight is a clash of two teams that aren’t just near the top of the division, they’re also battling for first in the Western Conference.
“We’re really looking forward to the battle,” said defenceman Dylan Samberg.
“We’re playing Central Division rival and this is a big game. A big win here could set us up for the rest of the season and give us that confidence. We’re all excited about the battle and we’re all dialled in.”
There have been a number of statement victories by the Jets this season, including the 4-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks earlier this month.
Two more of those reputation building wins have come against the Colorado Avalanche this season, and wins like that are part of the reason the Jets are 16-3-1 against the Central.
They’ve built a record of 10-0-1 in games against St. Louis, Arizona, and Chicago, but the divisional team they’ve yet to figure out is Dallas.
The Stars are responsible for two of the three regulation losses the Jets have suffered against divisional opponents.
“Games like tonight give us an idea of how good of a team we can be,” said Nino Niederreiter. “You want to make sure you’re above them and do whatever it takes to do that. They’re a well structured team. It’s going to demand our best hockey to win the game.”
Connor Hellebuyck will get the start in goal against Dallas, and based on the morning skate at American Airlines Center, the Jets won’t make any changes to the line-up.
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Ehlers-Monahan-Iafallo
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Namestnikov-Perfetti
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
The Stars are coming off a 5-1 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday and open a quick two-game home stand tonight.
Defenceman Chris Tanev, who was acquired from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, won’t play tonight as Dallas works through the immigration process to make Tanev eligible to play.
Speaking of the Dallas blue line, they’ll get Nils Lundkvist back in the line-up against the Jets. He’’s missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury.
Offensively, the Jets know what Dallas is capable of. They’re third in the National Hockey League with 216 goals scored. Matt Duchene and Roope Hintz lead the way with 23 goals, while Jason Robertson’s 58 points are tops on the team.
“They’re a very good hockey club. Very dangerous on the rush because their forwards leave the zone early and they push your defence back,” said head coach Rick Bowness, adding that Dallas gets a lot of offence from the blue line as well.
“They’re getting some great offence from (Thomas) Harley on defence. He’s up in the play a lot,” Bowness said. “You know Miro (Heiskanen) is coming. They’re a tough team to defend. They have a great young goaltender in Jake (Oettinger), so this is a legitimate elite team.”
It’s a tough start to a three-game road trip that will bring the Jets into Carolina and Buffalo before heading back to the Manitoba capital.
“We just played four non-playoff teams, and we got away with it. We’re not going to get away with it against elite hockey teams like Dallas, Carolina, and everything coming up this month,” said Bowness. “We have to clean that up. We’re giving up too many chances in our end zone coverage that we don’t give up. We’re going to keep addressing it and we’re going to clean it up.”
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
