GAMEDAY: Avalanche at Jets

WINNIPEG – There is a sense of hope in the Manitoba capital.

The Winnipeg Jets are playing their best hockey of the season and thanks to a 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, they are over .500 and remain five points back of the Nashville Predators for the final wild card spot in the west.

“Obviously, we're trying to chase here. Yeah, I guess that's a good thing. We want to keep moving well beyond that point. If that's a step in the right direction, then that's great,” said Morgan Barron.

“But we're going to have a tight stretch here with a lot of games in a short period of time that are all going to be important. So, I don't think we have too much time to dwell on over, under, even .500, whatever it is.”

The Jets started slow on Tuesday, possibly a product of finding their legs after a three-game trip out east.  The important part is that once they found their legs, they stifled the Golden Knights offence, especially at five-on-five.

“I thought we did a really good job of clogging the middle of the ice, especially on entries in our end,” said Scott Arniel Tuesday night.

“I thought our forwards did a great job of tracking, which led to our D being able to keep a really good gap and kind of with that team, with some of that skill. They really like to play that way, with a lot of one-on-one hockey. I just thought we did a real good job with the guts of the ice.”

Make sure to watch the Jets pregame show with Sara and Jamie on YouTube, X or Facebook.

Considering the opponents the Jets are facing this week (Vegas and home and home with Colorado), they will need to continue playing the style of game that wouldn’t be described as entertaining.

“We don't want to go out there and just kind of exchange chances and give up lots and try to get lots,” said Barron.

“I think there's teams that play that run-and-gun style, but for me we want to build a style that we think can be successful in the regular season and the playoffs, and I thought that lined up very well with what we did (Tuesday) night.”

Winnipeg has three teams in front of them that they will have to leapfrog in order to achieve their goal of making the playoffs. Seattle is in Tampa Bay; Nashville is hosting New Jersey and Los Angeles is in Vancouver.

“Obviously, there's been a lot of times where we're playing a big game, we seem to drop the two points and then everyone else seems to lose as well. I mean if you look at the schedules, I think there's a lot of those teams in the race begin to play each other, so that's not going to happen as much, we know that,” said Barron.

“So yeah, you try not to get too concerned with it. Obviously when you drop points and everyone else drops points, I guess it's good, because you don't lose ground. But at the same time, it was an opportunity to gain ground.”

The Jets have now collected points in their last four home games, with all four games coming against Western Conference opponents and three against Central Division opponents. Winnipeg has outscored their opponents by a combined score of 13-7 over their current home point streak. Winnipeg beat the Avalanche last time 3-1 when Colorado was here less than two weeks ago.

"Yeah. They're a great team, so we're going to need our 'A' game to beat them,” said Brad Lambert.

“But I think we've shown that we can do it."

Lambert is starting to look more and more comfortable in the NHL and especially since Arniel put him and Isak Rosén with Barron, a line that has a lot of youth and speed on it.

"A big thing for me was when things aren't going your way, not trying to do too much. Kind of sticking to the way the game is going,” said Lambert.

“Making sure you're responsible and I think the opportunities will come. I felt like earlier, there were times when I was kind of forcing things or trying a little too hard. Almost like a less is more type of situation."

With a goal and two assists against Vegas, Mark Scheifele has now recorded 28 multi-point games this season, tied for fourth in the NHL. Scheifele has already set a career high for multi-point games and is now tied for the second-most in a season in franchise history. With his next multi-point effort, Scheifele will pass Kyle Connor (2024-25) for sole possession of second place, trailing only Marian Hossa (32 in 2006-07). 

The Jets have posted an 7-3-0 record in the last 10 games against the Avalanche and a 3-2-0 record in the last five. The Jets have won six of the last seven matchups against Colorado at Canada Life Centre including each of the last four.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7 CT.