Game #17: Jets @ Jackets

Last time these two teams met was in the pre-season during a split-squad game that had one half of the Jets delighting the MTS Centre while the other half struggled in Ohio.

Now seventeen games into the 2011-12 season, the Winnipeg Jets (5-8-3) find themselves in a much better position than the ex-Jet/ex-Moose Scott Arniel coached Columbus Blue Jackets (2-12-1).

The Jackets have started out November with three big losses - 4-1 to Toronto, 9-2 to Philadelphia, and 6-3 to Chicago.

The team's only two wins came against Detroit 4-1 on October 25th at home and against Anaheim 3-1 on October 30th at home.

While the Jackets started out the season with losses in many one or two goal games, the trend hasn't improved to wins and the Jackets sit with only five points through 15 games.

The Jets, meanwhile, are coming off their fourth straight loss on Thursday night - a 5-2 loss at home to Florida.

While the team did score two goals against the Panthers, they did both come in the third period when the game was already 4-0. Panther's forward Kris Versteeg was able to score more goals that night than the entire Jets lineup.

So far, the Jets are 1-2-2 in November.

The Jets are faring a 3-5-3 road record while the Jackets have a 2-5-1 home record.

They are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for 14th with 13 points, five points out of a playoff spot and only two points in front of the New York Islanders.

Game time is 6:00 PM CT and available on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada.


Photo Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports & Getty Images

Game #13: Jets @ Devils

Saturday night, the surging Winnipeg Jets (5-6-1) hope that the number 13 isn't unlucky as they take on the New Jersey Devils (5-5-1) at Prudential Centre.

Both teams have posted 5-4-1 records over their last ten games, but both teams will be missing some of their key players Saturday night as the Jets will still be without defenseman Tobias Enstrom, while the Devils may be without forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who left Thursday's game against Philadelphia with a lower-body injury.

The Devils will also be without forward Travis Zajac, Jacob Josefson, and possibly Andy Greene, who didn't play Thursday against the Flyers.

The Jets will be without Ron Hainsey and Enstrom, while Mark Stuart and Randy Jones are game time decisions if they may go.

Tonight's game is the first of four meetings this season.

Ondrej Pavelec is slated to start tonight and Sunday night as well against the New York Rangers.

Pavelec posted his first shutout as a Jet Thursday and has gone 2-2-0 with a 2.75 goals against average and a .932 save percentage so far on the Jets seven game road trip.

His play has been steadily improving as he has now stopped 135 of the last 146 shot directed his way.

Evander Kane will look to continue his hot play as he has has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his last six games. He now has three multi-point games this season and scored his first multi-goal game in Florida against the Panthers.

Kane has goals in the last two games, including the game winner on Long Island.

Game time is 6:00 PM CT and is available on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada.


Sources:
winnipegjets.com

tsn.ca/nhl


Photo Courtesy Yahoo! Sports & Getty Images

Game #10: Jets @ Lightning

Winnipeg Jets (3-5-1) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (4-4-2)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
St. Pete Times Forum 6:00 PM CT
TV: CBC, CW44
Radio: TSN 1290 (Winnipeg)

Already nine games into the season and the Jets are only playing divisional opponent number two tonight in Tampa Bay.

The Jets dispatched the Carolina Hurricanes earlier on October 22nd with a 5-3 comeback victory in the first game against a team from their own Southeast Division.

Now they will see how they stack up against the powerhouse offense of Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, and Martin St. Louis in Tampa.

The Lightning have a .500 record so far this season, highlighted by winning three of their last four.

Head coach Guy Boucher's club started the season off very rough, going 1-3-2 before winning three straight from October 20th to 25th.

Their last tilt was a 5-3 loss to the Nashville Predators.

The Jets, meanwhile, will have a quandry to who will start in net. All likelihood will be Ondrej Pavelec as Chris Mason, who replaced Pavelec in the Philadelphia game Thursday night, left that game with a groin problem.

Nik Antropov and Alexander Burmistrov co-lead the Jets in points with nine apiece - the only two Jets who are point-per-game players thus far this season.

Both have three goals and six assists.

Add to that Burmistrov is a club best +3 this season.

Game time is 6 PM CT and is available on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada.


Photo's Courtesty of Yahoo! Sports & Getty Images

Remember When Don Cherry Predicted Jets Return?

I remember writing articles in the early days of Bleacher Report and saying that Don Cherry was a reliable source of predicting what was going to happen in the NHL and hockey.

Many people scoffed and still do and at times I still see those articles as ridiculous and somewhat unbased on any actual reporting or research on Cherry's part.

Thing is, the man knows hockey and has that intuition about the game that very few in the business do. He's been around the game since his playing days in Rochester and his coaching days in Boston.

However, on February 11, 2011, during his Canadian favourite first intermission classic show Coaches Corner, Cherry told Winnipeg fans to get ready because a team was on its way.

I don't want to pump Cherry's tires anymore than the next guy. He's got a loud enough mouth to do that on his own.

But I want to just remind you that one our Canadian icons predicted that Canada would be getting another hockey team and get a feeling of self worth back as we have seven teams for the first time in 15 years.

Jets Get Short End of Stick With TSN National Broadcasting; Getting More National Coverage on CBC

After signing in on an agreement that would have TSN be the broadcaster of Jets back in Winnipeg, TSN has announced their TV schedule and have alot of Canadian content.

However, TSN is only going to be broadcasting five Jets games this season.

Compare that to seven Toronto games, 15 Montreal games, and 10 Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver games.

In those five games on TSN, the Jets face the Chicago Blackhawks on October 13th, the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 19th, the Montreal Canadiens on January 4th, the Boston Bruins on February 17th, and the New York Rangers on March 28th.

Though local Winnipeg radio station SportsRadio 1290 will be carrying all the Jets games via radio (with a play-by-play announcer still in the works), TSN did not deliver through with Jets games as possibly figured.

However, CBC picked up the tab and are broadcasting 21 Jets games, mostly on Saturday night's Hockey Night In Canada, including the home opener between the Montreal Canadiens and Jets and their Sunday, February 5th meeting in Montreal.

The Jets will also make an appearance on Versus Monday, February 5th when they host the Buffalo Sabres and on the US NHL Network for their home opener and again on Saturday, February 11th when they visit Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins as part of Hockey Day In Canada.

Jets To Be On Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada

The Jets game in Pittsburgh against the Penguins on February 10 has been rescheduled to the 11th to accommodate the Jets to be a part of Hockey Night In Canada's Hockey Day In Canada celebrations.