The Winnipeg Jets visit the Vegas Golden Knights tonight in the first of two games between the two sides at T-Mobile Arena this season…The Jets started their three-game road trip with a 7-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night…The Jets conclude the road trip on Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes.
Road Weary
Winnipeg is 15-13-0 on the road this season, but are 3-5-0 in their past eight
road games and haven’t won consecutive road games in 2019…The Jets went 23-11
on the road in 2018…Winnipeg hasn’t lost three consecutive road games in
regulation since Dec. 10-20/16…The Jets have played 28 road games this season,
which is tied for the fewest in the NHL, but are in a stretch of seven of nine
games away from Bell MTS Place…Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in scoring on the
road this season with 27 points (4G, 23A) in 28 games.
Party in the Pacific
The Jets are 11-3-2 against Pacific Division opponents this season and have won
six of the past eight games…Winnipeg was a dominant 17-4-2 against Pacific
Division foes last season and are on an 21-4-4 run in their last 29 games
versus the Pacific…Blake Wheeler (5G, 11A) leads the Jets in scoring against
the Pacific Division this season with 16 points in 16 games, while Mark
Scheifele has 15 points (6G, 9A) in 16 games…Goaltender Laurent Brossoit is 3-1
with a 1.59 goals-against average and .959 save percentage in four games
against Pacific Division teams this season.
For and Against
The Jets are averaging 3.35 goals per game this season, which is sixth in the
NHL…Last season, the Jets finished second in the league with an average of 3.33
goals per game…Winnipeg is averaging 2.95 goals against this season, which is
13th in the NHL, but have allowed an average of 3.69 goals per game
in 13 games since Jan. 19 (5-6-2).
Taking Their Shots
The Jets have been outshot in five consecutive games, but have earned at least
a point in three of the five games by going 2-2-1…Winnipeg is 22-11-4 when
being outshot this season, which is the third most wins in the NHL…The Jets have
been outshot by an average of 41.2-32.6 in their past five games.
Time Travellers
The Jets are in a stretch of six games in three different time zones and play
consecutive games in the same time zone just once…The Jets play the three games
of this road trip in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones before returning home
to the Central Time Zone for two games and then going to the Eastern Time Zone
for four games.
Sinbin
The Jets were assessed 33 minutes in penalties on Wednesday, which is the
second most penalty minutes they have taken in a game this season (60 – Oct. 11
at NSH)…The Jets have 588 penalty minutes this season, which tied for third
most in the NHL, but only have one player in the NHL’s top 25 in penalty
minutes – Brendan Lemieux (T-17 with 64 PIM)…Winnipeg’s opponents have had at
least four power play opportunities in four of their past five games.
Wingman
After going back-to-back games without a point for just the second time this
season, Blake Wheeler assisted Kyle Connor’s goal on Wednesday for his team
leading 57th assist and 69th point…Wheeler needs one more
point for his fourth consecutive 70-point season, which would leave him one
season shy of Ilya Kovalchuk’s franchise record of five consecutive 70-point
seasons…Wheeler needs three more assists to become the first player in
franchise history to record back-to-back 60-assist seasons.
Lots of Rubber
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck faced 46 shots in Wednesday’s loss to Colorado,
which marked his sixth consecutive start of facing 35 shots or more…Hellebuyck
has faced 35 shots or more in 20 games this season, which is the most in the
NHL…He faced 35 or more shots in just 14 games all of last season…Hellebuyck
has a .918 save percentage this season when facing 35 or more shots in a game,
which is up from his overall save percentage for the season at .909.
Jets
vs. Golden Knights All-Time Records
Overall: 2-1-1
At Bell MTS Place: 2-0-1
At T-Mobile Arena: 0-1-0
2018-19 Game Log vs. Golden Knights
| Date | Location | Score | Rec | Scorers | Goaltender |
| Jan. 15 | Winnipeg | 4-1 W | 1-0-0 (30-14-2) | Connor (17, 18), Perreault (10), Scheifele (25) | Brossoit (43 sv, 1 ga) |
| Feb. 22 | Vegas | ||||
| Mar. 21 | Vegas |
Jets vs. Golden Knights Notes
- Winnipeg and Vegas met in last season’s Western Conference Final.
- Combining regular season and playoff games, the Jets are 0-3 at T-Mobile Arena.
- The Jets have earned a point in three of their four games against Vegas (2-1-1).
- Winnipeg are 15-for-17 (88.2%) on the penalty kill in their four games against Vegas.
- Kyle Connor (5G, 2A) leads the Jets in scoring against Vegas with seven points (5G, 2A) in four games, while Mark Scheifele has six points (2G, 4A) in three games.
- Connor scored his five goals on nine shots (55.6%).
- Bryan Little has gone 45-for-67 (67.2%) in the faceoff circle in four games against the Golden Knights, while Mark Scheifele has won 60% (33-for-55) of his faceoffs in three games.
Jets-Golden Knights Connections
- Vegas forward Paul Stastny played in 19 regular season and 17 playoff games for the Jets last season after being acquired from the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline. He signed with the Golden Knights as a free agent on July 1.
- Golden Knights forwards Cody Eakin and Ryan Reaves are from Winnipeg.
- Golden Knights Assistant General Manager Kelly McCrimmon is from Brandon, Manitoba and is the owner of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings.
- Jets forward Blake Wheeler was teammates with Vegas forwards Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty at the 2014 Olympic Games when they played for USA.
Upcoming Milestones
Dustin Byfuglien
- Needs one shorthanded assist to tie Marty Reasoner and Patrik Stefan (7) for the second-most shorthanded assists in franchise history.
Nikolaj Ehlers
- Needs two penalty minutes to reach 100 for his career.
Dmitry Kulikov
- Needs three games played to reach 100 as a member of the Jets.
Bryan Little
- Needs two assists to reach 300 for his NHL career.
Paul Maurice
- Needs one win to reach 685 as an NHL head coach and pass Pat Quinn for eighth-most all-time.
Blake Wheeler
- 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.