Winnipeg Jets (52-20-4) at Utah Hockey Club (34-30-12)
Venue: Delta Center
Date: Tonight – Saturday, April 5th
Time: 6:00 pm CST
TV: Sportsnet
Radio: 680 CJOB
Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster
Utah Hockey Club News & Notes:
Utah is coming off a loss to the Los Angeles Kings at home. Utah’s playoff hopes are slowly dimming, and a loss to Winnipeg would put them in a tough situation where they’d need to win from their next game to the end of the season for a slim chance.
Utah enters the game against Winnipeg with a 5-4-1 record in their last 10 games. They’re 22nd in the NHL in goals for with 2.8 goals scored per game and 18th in goals against per game with 3.0 against per game. Utah’s power play is 21.6%, which is 16th in the NHL, and their penalty kill is 81.1%, which lands them at ninth in the NHL.
Winnipeg Jets News & Notes:
Winnipeg is looking to add to its win totals against Utah tonight after coming off a convincing 4-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Winnipeg holds the top spot in the Central Division by four points over the Dallas Stars, and a win over Utah could give the Jets more breathing room against Dallas.
The Jets enter tonight’s contest against Utah with a 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games. They’re fourth in the NHL in goals for with 3.4 goals scored per game and first in the NHL in goals against per game with 2.3 against per game. Winnipeg’s power play ranks second in the NHL with a 29.4% power play while their penalty kill ranks 14th at just 79.9%.
Utah Hockey Club Projected Lines
Clayton Keller – Logan Cooley – Dylan Guenther
Nick Schmaltz – Barrett Hayton – Kailer Yamamoto
Lawson Crouse – Jack McBain – Josh Doan
Alex Kerfoot – Kevin Stenlund – Nick Bjugstad
Mikhail Sergachev – John Marino
Ian Cole – Sean Durzi
Olli Maata – Michael Kesselring
Karel Vejmelka
Matt Villalta
Winnipeg Jets Projected Lines
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Alex Iafallo
Nino Niederreiter – Vladislav Namestnikov – Cole Perfetti
Brandon Tanev – Adam Lowry – Mason Appleton
David Gustafsson – Morgan Barron – Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Josh Morrissey – Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg – Luke Schenn
Logan Stanley – Colin Miller
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Players To Watch:
Utah Hockey Club
The last time that Utah and Winnipeg played was in late January when the Winnipeg Jets beat Utah 5-3 at home. Utah’s first line was a silent killer for them in that game, even in a loss.
Utah will be relying on their top performers in Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Clayton Keller, Mikhail Sergachev and Karel Vejmelka to help lead them to a crucial win against a top playoff team.
Winnipeg Jets
As the Jets continue to push and fight for the top spot in the Central Division, they will be looking to their top contributors like Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor to continue to drive play. The key to the Jets’ success is depth scoring and tight defensive play.
Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti have found themselves in flashy roles, and it is almost expected that in each game, either player will be a driving factor in one or multiple goals.
Injury Report:
Utah Hockey Club
C Tij Iginla – IR – Out, Hip
C Liam O’Brien – IR – LBI, Week-to-Week
D Juuso Valimaki – IR – Out, Knee
G Connor Ingram – IR-NR, Personal
Winnipeg Jets
RW Gabriel Vilardi – IR – UBI, Week-to-Week
C Rasmus Kupari – IR – Concussion
D Neal Pionk – IR – LBI, Week-to-Week
Next game
Utah Hockey Club – April 8th vs the Seattle Kraken
Winnipeg Jets – April 7th vs the St. Louis Blues
ITR 39: Conference Finals – Inside The Rink
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