The Winnipeg Jets (12-9-0) are kicking off a 5 game road trip to the east coast….and they will be hoping things go much better than their west coast swing. The opening contest sees our squad visit DC to take on the Washington Capitals (12-9-2), who have been playing some good hockey lately, winning 4 of their last 5 games while averaging 5 goals for per game. So the True Northers will likely need to be defensively sound if they hope to end their 2 game losing streak.

Word has it that Neal Pionk won’t be out of the lineup for long, but his absence will help young defensive prospect Elias Salomonsson make his first ever NHL appearance. Head coach Scott Arniel has also did some juggling of the forward units in the most recent practice, suggesting that Morgan Barron will get a boost up to the 2nd line while Cole Perfetti drops to the 4th. The Caps are relatively healthy, though former Jet Pierre-Luc Dubois sustained a major injury and is expected to on the sidelines until March.

Let’s continue our look at Winnipeg & Washington by checking out ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers for tonight’s late night game (yet another 9:00 pm Central start):

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The above stats suggest that Winnipeg & Washington should be evenly matched, though the Jets do have an advantage in special teams’ success early on in the campaign. However, with tender Connor Hellebuyck recovering from surgery, the Capitals could have the advantage between the pipes. Yet, at this point, the opposition appears to be going with back up Charlie Lindgren over Logan Thompson, so the match up might be even after all. Speaking of the line ups, time to check out how PuckPedia is predicting the clubs to line up tonight (3 PM Central):

WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP

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WASHINGTON CAPITALS LINE UP

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Looks like neither of the former Winnipeg players will be on the ice tonight, as Declan Chisholm might be press-box bound when his current club plays his former one.

Pretty hectic day for me….so that is about all I can manage at this point. Lets hear in the Comment section whether you think the Winnipeg Jets’ changes will result in an end of their losing streak? Are you excited to see how Elias Salomonsson does? Perhaps we will get a glance at what the future of the Jets’ RD position could be with the young Swede hopefully showing the coaching staff that Winnipeg won’t need bottom pairing options like Luke Schenn or Colin Miller next season.

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:

Since the Jets-Caps game starts off early (6 pm Central), I should have time to add the scoring summary, stats, and some final thoughts before I hit the hay tonight. Go Jets!!!