WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets will entertain the New York Rangers at Canada Life Centre tonight as they continue their eight game homestand.
The Jets suffered their first regulation loss in seven games in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks in a game that saw them register just 13 shots. They are 3-1 so far on this homestand.
“Yeah, I would say any time you can get six wins in eight games, that’s a pretty successful span of hockey. Obviously, this time of year is really hard,” said Cole Perfetti.
“Wins don’t come easy, so any time we can get two points it’s huge. Obviously last night didn’t go the way we wanted, but we’ve had a pretty good start coming out of the break. We’ve just got to keep this going.”
Winnipeg had been playing some of their best hockey of the season before Tuesday night and that’s what made it so frustrating for the players that they couldn’t generate anything offensively against the Ducks.
“Obviously we didn't play our best game, and we know we have better than that. We've had a good stretch here of playing some good hockey, so we've just got to get back to that. Shots, it is what it is,” said Gus Nyquist.
“There's a lot of teams in this league that their system is just throwing pucks on net and you end up with 40 shots. But how dangerous are some? But for sure, walking away with 13 shots, I think it was 13, it's not enough and something we have to change for next game.”
Seattle also lost on Tuesday night which means the Jets could be sitting here this morning just three points out of a playoff spot instead of five. Moneypuck.com has their playoff odds at 8.5%, but the Kraken’s loss means they didn’t lose any ground either.
“Yeah, I guess that's a positive. But in saying that, those are the games you've got to win to catch up. Obviously, we're not further from it, but we're not closer either,” said Nyquist.
“And there's a time limit on those games. We've got only so many games left. So, we'll flush that one out and get ready for tomorrow.”
The Jets will get another club that is having a season that no one predicted when the Rangers make their only trip to Manitoba. The Rangers sit in last place in the Eastern Conference but have won their last two games including a 4-0 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
“So, there’s no quit in their locker room, they’re playing for their pride and everything,” said Perfetti.
“It’s going to be a hard game. They’ve been pretty decent on the road. Just got to stick to our game, play our game, like we have been the last few, and we’ll be alright.”
Make sure to watch the Jets pregame show “The Check In” at 12:30 CT with Sara and Jamie.
