The Winnipeg Jets play the second of two road games this week tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins…The Jets have had three days off since a 4-3 win against the Edmonton Oilers on New Year’s Eve…After tonight’s game, the Jets return home to play five of their next six games at Bell MTS Place, beginning on Sunday against the Dallas Stars.
25 Wins
The Jets won their 25th game of the season in Edmonton on Monday in
their 39th game to set a franchise record for fewest games needed to
reach 25 wins…Last season, the Jets won their 25th game in their 43rd
game, while it took 47 games for the Jets post their 25th win in
2014-15.
On the Road Again
The Jets are 12-6-0 on the road this season and are on a three-game road
winning streak…Winnipeg has won eight of
their past nine games away from Bell MTS Place…Winnipeg matched a franchise
record with a five-game road winning streak from Nov. 24-Dec. 14…Blake Wheeler
(3G, 19A) leads the Jets in scoring on the road with 22 points in 18 games.
Best Year So Far
The Jets compiled 114 points in the 2018 calendar year by going 54-21-6 in 81 games…Winnipeg
was one of three teams in the NHL to reach 114 points or more in the calendar
year…It establishes a new benchmark for wins and points in a calendar year
since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg in 2011…Winnipeg’s 21 losses in
regulation last year were the fewest in the NHL.
| Year | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS |
| 2011 | 38 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 43 |
| 2012 | 44 | 18 | 21 | 5 | 41 |
| 2013 | 89 | 42 | 39 | 8 | 92 |
| 2014 | 77 | 37 | 28 | 12 | 86 |
| 2015 | 80 | 41 | 31 | 8 | 90 |
| 2016 | 82 | 35 | 39 | 9 | 79 |
| 2017 | 83 | 46 | 27 | 10 | 102 |
| 2018 | 81 | 54 | 21 | 6 | 114 |
Lighter Load
After playing 12 games (10-2-0) in 22 days to begin December, the Jets are finishing a stretch of four games in a span of 13 days between Dec. 23-Jan. 4…Winnipeg’s three-day break between games this week is one of two three-day breaks between games in its schedule that isn’t attached to the Global Series, Christmas break, or player break/all-star break…However, tonight begins a run of nine games in 16 days for the Jets leading into the player and all-star break from Jan. 20-27.
Against the East
The Jets are 10-4-1 against Eastern Conference teams this season, including 7-1-0
against the Metropolitan Division…The Jets haven’t played an Eastern Conference
team since a 5-4 overtime win against the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning at
Bell MTS Place on Dec. 16…Winnipeg went 19-7-6 against the Eastern Conference
last season, including a 10-3-3 record versus the Atlantic Division and 9-4-3
record against the Metropolitan Division…Blake Wheeler leads the Jets with 21
points (1G, 20A) in 15 games against the Eastern Conference, while Mark
Scheifele has 19 points (11G, 8A) in 15 games…Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is 7-4-0
with a 2.63 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in 11 games against
the Eastern Conference this season.
Seeing Stars
The NHL announced the rosters for the 2019 NHL
All-Star Game yesterday and Jets forwards Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele were
selected to the Central Division team…Wheeler, who is making his second
consecutive all-star appearance, leads the Jets and is tied for ninth in the
league in points (50) and also leads the Jets and ranks third in the NHL in
assists (44)…Scheifele is making his first all-star appearance and is second on
the Jets in points (49), goals (22), and assists (27)…He is also in the top 15
in the NHL in goals and points…Forward Patrik Laine is on a Last Man In ballot,
as fans vote on the final member of each all-star team…If the Jets retain their
first place standing in the Central Division through the halfway point of the
season, head coach Paul Maurice will be selected as the coach of the Central
Division team.
Two for Lemieux
Brendan Lemieux had two goals on Monday against Edmonton, which doubled his
career goal total and was the first multi-goal game of his career…Lemieux’s
second goal of the game was also the first game-winning goal of his career…The
Jets have had six players score multiple goals in a game this season, led by
Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele, who each have five multi-goal games.
100
Connor Hellebuyck won his 100th career game on Monday against the
Oilers…He reached the milestone in 179 games, which the fourth fastest in NHL
history by an American born goaltender…Hellebuyck is second all-time in franchise
wins, behind Ondrej Pavelec’s 152 victories…Hellebuyck’s .644 winning percentage
is first in franchise history among goaltenders that have made 100 starts.
Increased Production
Brandon Tanev netted his eighth goal of the season on Monday, which matches the
eight goals he had last season in 61 games…He needs four more assists and points
to match the career high 10 assists and 18 points he had last season…Tanev’s
ice time has also increased from an average of 12:40 per game last season to 14:11
this season.
Jets
vs. Penguins All-Time Records
Overall: 15-39-8
At Bell MTS Place: 4-5-1
PPG Paints Arena: 0-8-2
2018-19 Game Log vs. Penguins
| Date | Location | Score | Rec | Scorers | Goaltender |
| Nov. 27 | Winnipeg | 4-3 L | 0-1-0 (13-8-2) | Tanev (4), Scheifele (12, 13) | Hellebuyck (26 sv, 4 ga) |
| Jan. 4 | Pittsburgh |
Jets vs. Penguins Notes
- The Jets are 1-3-2 in the past six games against the Penguins.
- Winnipeg has not won back-to-back games against Pittsburgh since relocation.
- The Jets franchise has never won a game at PPG Paints Arena. It’s the only NHL arena in which the team has not posted a victory.
- Last season’s 7-1 win against the Penguins in Winnipeg on Oct. 29/17 was the Jets’ largest margin of victory against Pittsburgh in franchise history.
- The Jets have scored just one goal in three of their last seven games against the Penguins.
- Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in scoring against the Penguins with 24 points (10G, 14A) in 30 career games.
- Mark Scheifele is averaging better than a point per game against the Penguins with 11 points (4G, 7A) in 10 career games, including eight points (3G, 5A) in his last five games against Pittsburgh.
Jets-Penguins Connections
- Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler and Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel are former teammates on both the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (2005-06) and Boston Bruins (2008-09).
- Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey played with Penguins goaltender Matt Murray at the 2012 U-18 World Championship.
- Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, defenceman Jacob Trouba and forward Mark Scheifele played with Murray at the World Cup of Hockey 2016, while Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien played with Pittsburgh’s Jack Johnson for USA at the event.
- The Penguins’ Tanner Pearson and the Jets’ Mark Scheifele are both from Kitchener, ON and both played together for the Barrie Colts during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
Upcoming Milestones
Dustin Byfuglien
- Needs one more game played to reach 600 as a member of the Jets franchise.
- Needs one shorthanded assist to tie Marty Reasoner and Patrik Stefan (7) for the second-most shorthanded assists in franchise history.
Kyle Connor
- Needs 10 points to reach 100 for his NHL career.
Nikolaj Ehlers
- Needs two penalty minutes to reach 100 for his career.
Bryan Little
- Needs four points to reach 500 for his NHL career.
Tyler Myers
- Needs eight points to reach 100 as a member of the Jets.
Blake Wheeler
- Needs four games played to reach 600 as a member of the Jets franchise.
- Needs one multi-goal game to pass Marian Hossa and take sole possession of third in multi-goal games in franchise history. They are both currently at 21.
- Needs one shorthanded assist to tie Marty Reasoner and Patrik Stefan (7) for the second-most shorthanded assists in franchise history.