The Winnipeg Jets have returned home for a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night, before they get back on an airplane to fly to Alberta for a clash versus the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Just a handful of games ago, the Sabres handed the Jets one of their most embarrassing losses in recent history…yet they didn’t manage to carry the momentum in their next game against the Philadelphia Flyers, limping away with a 5-2 loss. Winnipeg on the other hand, did get slightly better results in a game of pond hockey versus the Montreal Canadiens, picking up a loser point after a shoot out loss.

If I tried to create a tag line for tonight’s game at the Canada Life Centre (6 pm Central start) like the great one used for the Ali-Frazier fight, Thrilla in Manilla……probably all I could come up with is the Battle of the Basement. The 5th last placed Sabres and the 7th last placed Jets doesn’t bring the excitement that Muhammad & Joe, but us True North fans will be satisfied with an evenly fought contest after the fiasco we witnessed on Monday.

In a bit of a rush once again today, so lets jump to a look at Winnipeg & Montreal’s seasons by checking out ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:

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From everything I have read, it seems like coach Scott Arniel won’t be making any changes from the roster that faced the Habs. On the injury front, both goalie Connor Hellebuyck & defenseman Haydn Fleury have resumed skating, though they are still not close to a return. Bucky will be slowly increasing what he does on the ice as he returns from surgery, while Fleury could not do any activities while he was recovering from a concussion, so he’ll need a stretch to get back into game shape.

Here is how PuckPedia has the predicted line ups for tonight’s clash:

WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP

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BUFFALO SABRES LINE UP

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Great news that Elias Salomonsson remains in the line up, but very much not a fan of keeping Tanner Pearson on the 4th line. Gustav Nyquist doesn’t make the same number of mistakes and is a much better option, even if neither has helped out much offensively this year. Can Eric Comrie stand on his head in back-to-back games? Sounds like he’ll get the start, so that should mean that Thomas Milic is going to have to face the likes of Connor McDavid & Leon Draisaitl on Hockey Night in Canada.

Remember when you looked forward to watching a Jets’ game? Those were good times.

Go Winnipeg!!!!!

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POST-GAME INFO

Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)

FINAL SCORE:  

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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)

Expected Goals (all): 

Expected Goals (5on5): 

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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:

With the weekend upon us, I will update the stats, summary, & my ramblings about how the Winnipeg-Buffalo game went by 10 pm Central.