WINNIPEG - The Winnipeg Jets became the first team to hit the 50-point mark after their 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 23. The Jets had four days off for Christmas but will get back to action on Saturday night when they host the Ottawa Senators for their first meeting of the season. Adam Lowry believes the extra day of practice will be beneficial for the Jets as opposed to last season when Winnipeg played in Chicago right out of the break.
“I’d expect it to be a little sharper than last year’s game in Chicago. You travel and go to the morning skate, and those days usually feel a little jammed, feeling your way through the first period,” said Lowry.
“You know, both teams are playing well. I’d expect it to be a pretty well-played game. I think having a practice day helps that.”
The Jets are coming off two huge wins over Minnesota and Toronto before the Christmas break and are hoping that momentum carries over to tonight’s game against a surging Senators squad.
“I think the structure and what we did well in both those games is going to be important moving forward. We really did a good job eliminating the rush chances, eliminating their high-end players and kind of denying the good areas of the ice,” said Lowry.
“Special teams have continued to play a big role. The power play scored a big goal to get us off to a great start. Those pieces of the game, we’re looking to carry into the game.”
Dylan DeMelo, Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk and Colin Miller will be the top four defencemen with Pionk playing the left side, which he did for a small amount of time against the Leafs after the injury to Haydn Fleury. Pionk said it’s been a long time since he’s started a game on the left side.
“Sophomore year in college, seven, eight years ago,” said Pionk.
“There is a little bit of an adjustment to it, but it will take me a couple of shifts and I’ll get into it.”
Dylan Coghlan will be the odd man out on the blueline this evening with Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola going as the Jets third defence pairing. Because Stanley missed the previous two games before the break, the Jets top three defencemen will be logging a lot of minutes against the Sens.
After a crazy road heavy schedule before the break, the Jets will now benefit with a ton of home games on their schedule. In fact, Winnipeg will play 10 of the next 11 games at Canada Life Centre. Winnipeg is 12-3-1 at Canada Life Centre this season. The 12 wins is the fifth-most in the NHL despite playing the fifth fewest games at home so far this season. They lead the league in goals per game at home this season with 4.00 while allowing just 36 goals, the second fewest in the NHL.
“Yeah, that's incredible. You thought that they would never come honestly, the way we've been playing on the road. But I think we got 14 to 20 at home before the break, and then 10 of 11 start. So that feels real good,” said Mason Appleton.
“You kind of get in a routine, being in your own beds real, real nice, especially this time of year where you're coming off such crazy road trips like that. So yeah, we're all excited to be at home.”
The Jets have lost three of the past four meetings against Ottawa at Canada Life Centre. Winnipeg has allowed a goal on the penalty kill in five consecutive games in Winnipeg. The Jets are 7-4-1 in the past 12 matchups against the Senators in Winnipeg.
