By Andrew Lauro – Wannamakeabet Staff Writer
Winnipeg Jets 13-5-3 (-103) @ Anaheim Ducks 10-8-3 (-107) 11/24/17
The Ducks were on a 3-game win streak until they lost their last game Wednesday night at home against the Golden Knights 4-2, and are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. While the Jets are coming off a 2-1 win against the Kings in Los Angeles. The Ducks are fighting for the wild card spot in the Western Conference, but are only 4 points out of first place. The top 6 teams in the Pacific are all very close in points. Winnipeg is 2nd in the Central, and have been one of the hotter teams in the league of late 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.
The Jets are 6-3-2 on the road. They are averaging 3.24 GF (8th in the NHL) and 2.71 GA(7th). Their powerplay is 22.9%(7th), and their penalty kill is 22nd in the league at 78.5%. They are averaging 28.3 shots per game which is dead last in the league, and are giving up 33.8 shots per game which is 6th most in the league. Their 4-1-0 in their last 5, and goalie Connor Hellebuyck who will most likely get the start against the Ducks is 3-2-0 in his last 5 with a GAA of 3.00 and a SV% .890. He had a rough outing against the Nashville Predators in his last start giving up 5 goals. With the way his numbers look, maybe backup goaltender Steve Mason will get the nod because the Jets are playing Saturday night as well, against the San Jose Sharks. Their powerplay has been affective so far throughout the year, but I feel the team needs to get more shots on net. Although being last in the league in shots for they must be taking quality shots. They have 8 players with a shooting percentage of at least 14.3 with a minimum of 17 shots on net. This team is an offensive threat and have a good powerplay if they can continue getting quality shots on net they’ll have no problem against the Ducks.
The Ducks are 6-6-2 at home. They are averaging 2.76 GF(24th) and 2.81 GA(22nd). Their PP is 17.2%(22nd), and their PK is 7th in the league at 84.1% They are in the same boat as the Jets as far as shots per game they are only averaging 29.9 SPG leaving them 26th in that category within the entire league. There biggest trouble is their giving up the most shots per game in the NHL with 36.7 SPGA. The Ducks are 3-2-0 in their last 5 games. It should be interesting to see who’s in net for the Ducks because they also have a back to back Friday and Saturday. Goalie John Gibson 7-7-1 on the season started the last game against the Knights on Wednesday. The Ducks have been using Ryan Miller 2-0-2 and Reto Berra 1-1-0 who had came into relieve John Gibson a couple of games due to injuries. It’s up in the air with who the Ducks we’ll start for this game. Miller’s numbers against the Jets in his career are 14-9-5 2.65 GAA and a SV% of .909. Gibson has seen the Jets 3 times in his career so far posting a 2-0-1 record with 1.60 GAA and a SV% of .933. We’ll see what the Ducks do for this game.
This is a very interesting matchup, we have the Jets with the least shots per game in the league and the Ducks, a team that has given up the most shots in the league. I think you should go with Winnipeg in this one.