It's a busy week in the NHL and Friday night there are another twelve games on the slate. The Winnipeg Jets will visit the Honda Center for a meeting with the Anaheim Ducks.
Ducks couldn't get it done against Arizona
The Anaheim Ducks started their season surprisingly well a few week ago, but they don't have the momentum on their side at the moment, losing nine of their last eleven games. Anaheim is standing seventh place in the Pacific Division and altough they're just two points behind the final guaranteed playoff spot, it's hard to imagine they can keep up with teams like the San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights and the surprisingly well-performing Edmonton Oilers for 82 games.
The Ducks are averaging 2.92 goals against per game (17th overall) and aren't exactly an attacking force with Ryan Getzlaf the only player with 20 points or more on the team. They mainly rely on great goaltending from their star goalie John Gibson, who has it in him to steal games for his team. He played really well during his last two starts, stopping 51 of 54 shots during that span, altough Anaheim couldn't build on their shut out victory against the Isles earliet this week. This Wednesdey they lost 5-4 to the Coyotes in a shootout.
Jets booked an impressive win in San Jose
The Winnipeg Jets are looking forward to make a great run during the Stanley Cup playoffs this season, but a first challenge will be to win the division title in the Central during the regular season. Last Wednesday they made an end to San Jose's hot streak with a 5-1 road win. The Sharks won ten of their last eleven games prior to this game, but looked lacklustre defensively for much of the night and the Jets took full advantage of this.
Patrik Laine was the big man with one goal and two assists. The Finn has become the joint-top scorer of the Jets, just like Mark Scheifele he has 23 points (seven goals, sixteen assists). Goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck also made a positive impression again. He is one of the better goaltenders of the NHL this season with a savepercentage of .930 and averages 2.34 goals against per game.
Anaheim can't stop the red-hot Jets
These teams have faced each other once before this season. In a spectacular match Anaheim took down Winnipeg 7-4 on October 29. Jets' goalie Hellebuyck had an off-day that night, but in the last few weeks he's been back to the high level he showed during most of last season. You can bet he and his teammates want to avenge that loss. The Jets are hot at the moment and the Anaheim is going in the opposite direction. They need a stellar performance from Gibson again if they want to get a result, but I expect the Jets to extend their hot streak.
