The Winnipeg Jets play their first of four home pre-season games tonight against the Minnesota Wild…The Jets visit the Wild on Sept. 29 to close their 2019 pre-season schedule…Following tonight’s game, the Jets return to practice at Bell MTS Iceplex tomorrow before hosting the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues on Friday.
Last Game
Sep. 16 at EDM – 2-0 L
Jets Scorers: None
Oilers Scorers: Neal (1), Nugent-Hopkins (1)
Jets Goaltender: Comrie (31 sv, 2 ga)
Oilers Goaltender: Skinner(18 sv, 0 ga); Wells (7 sv, 0 ga)
Jets PP: 0-for-2
Jets PK: 0-for-0
Recap: The Winnipeg Jets were shutout 2-0 by the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night…Eric Comrie stopped 31 of 33 shots for the Jets…Defenceman Neal Pionk and forward Joona Luoto led the Jets with four shots each, while defenceman Tucker Poolman had a game-high eight hits…Every member of the Jets played at least 12:15 and defenceman Nathan Beaulieu led the team with 21:42 of ice time.
Three Stars: 1. Klefbom 2. Persson 3. Skinner
Top Duo Debuts
Top scorers from a season ago, Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele are making their pre-season debut tonight…Wheeler led the Jets with 91 points (20G, 71A) in 82 games, while Scheifele had 84 points, including a team-leading 38 goals, in 82 games…They were the only two Jets players to average more than a point per game.
Repeat Appearances
The Jets have five players scheduled to play tonight in their second game of the pre-season…Defencemen Anthony Bitetto and Tucker Poolman are joined by forwards Joona Luoto, Andrei Chibisov, and CJ Suess…Goaltender Mikhail Berdin dressed as the back up on Monday and is uniform again tonight.
Against the Wild
The Jets went 0-5-0 against the Wild last season…One side has won at least four games against the other in three of the last four seasons…Despite going 0-4 against the Wild last season, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had a 2.80 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in the four contests against Minnesota.
Back Outside
The Jets are scheduled to face the Calgary Flames at Mosaic Stadium in Regina on Oct. 26 for the 2019 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic…This is Winnipeg’s second outdoor game, as the Jets hosted the Edmonton Oilers in 2016 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at IG Field.
Road Start
The Jets play five of their first six games on the road to begin the regular season, including a four-game road trip to start the season…Winnipeg visits the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins to kick off the 2019-20 campaign…The Jets were 22-18-1 on the road last season, which was 13th in the NHL.
Rookie Recap
The Jets went 1-2 during the Rookie Showcase earlier this month in Bellville, Ont…The Jets rookies beat Montreal 2-1, while they dropped the two games to Ottawa (8-1 and 2-1 OTL)…Cole Maier led the Jets contingent in scoring with three points in three games (1G, 2A).
Pre-Season Sked
The Jets play seven pre-season games in 14 days this month…Winnipeg plays their usual pre-season counterparts twice each – Minnesota, Calgary, and Edmonton – and host the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues on Sept. 20 at Bell MTS Place.