WINNIPEG JETS NOTES:
Scene Setter
The Winnipeg Jets play the middle game of their five-game road trip on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators as part of Hockey Day in Canada. The Jets are winless on the trip so far after a pair of 4-1 losses – Tuesday to Montreal and Thursday to Toronto. Winnipeg finishes the trip in Philadelphia on Sunday and Nashville on Tuesday.
Last Game
Toronto Maple Leafs 4
Winnipeg Jets 1
Jets Scorer: Connor (23)
Maple Leafs Scorers: Matthews (23, 24), Marner (17), Giordano (3)
Jets Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck (23 sv, 3 ga)
Maple Leafs Goaltender: Ilya Samsonov (37 sv, 1 ga)
Jets PP: 1-for-4
Jets PK: 1-for-1
Recap: Despite a 38-27 advantage in shots, the Jets lost 4-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. Kyle Connor scored Winnipeg’s lone goal in the third period to break the shutout. Connor and Neal Pionk had a team best six shots. Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves in his third consecutive start.
Top 10
The Jets are seventh in the NHL with a .641 points percentage, which ranks second in the Central Division and third in the Western Conference… Winnipeg’s best points percentage in franchise history was in 2017-18 when the team finished at .695… The franchise has finished a season with a points percentage better than .600 four times.
Facing the East
The Jets are in the midst of playing 10 of 13 games against Eastern Conference opponents… Winnipeg is 8-9-0 against the Eastern Conference this season… Kyle Connor (10G, 8A) leads the Jets in scoring against the east with 18 points in 17 games.
The January Upon Us
The Jets are 6-3-0 in January for a .667 points percentage, which is tied for sixth in the NHL… The most wins the Jets have had in January is eight during the 2018-19 season… After playing 16 games in 30 days in December, the Jets play 15 games in 29 days from Jan. 2-30, but opened the month with two games in the first seven days… Seven of the 15 games are at home… Winnipeg’s eight road games in January come in the form of a three-game road trip and five-game road trip… The Jets are 17-17-3 in January during the past four seasons.
On the Rebound
The Jets have dropped consecutive games for the fifth time this season… After each of their losing skids of two-games or more, the Jets have won multiple games in a row… Winnipeg’s longest losing streak of the season is three games from Dec. 22-27, which was following by a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season, from Dec. 29-Jan. 8.
Road Record
The Jets are 12-10-1 on the road this season… Winnipeg is 3-6-0 in their past nine road games after starting the season 9-4-1 away from home… Defenceman Josh Morrissey (2G, 21A) leads the Jets in scoring on the road with 23 points in 23 games, while Kyle Connor has 22 points (9G, 13A)… Mark Scheifele has a team leading 11 goals.
Power Play Clicking
The Jets have scored on the power play in four consecutive games… Winnipeg is 10-for-36 on the power play during the past 11 games (31.3%)… The Jets have climbed to ninth in the NHL this season with a power play successful 24.6% of the time… Josh Morrissey has the primary assist on four of Winnipeg’s past seven power play goals.
PK Prowess
Winnipeg is second in the NHL with a penalty kill successful 84.4% of the time… The Jets are 35-for-37 (94.6%) on the penalty kill in their past 12 games, including a perfect 14-for-14 in the past five games… It’s Winnipeg’s third streak of least four games without allowing a power play goal this season (6 games – Oct. 28-Nov. 12; 4 games – Dec. 29-Jan. 6)… The last time the Jets had a penalty kill better than 82% was in 2013-14 when they finished the season at 83.2%… The franchise record for penalty kill percentage in a season is 85.2%, which occurred in Atlanta during the 2003-04 season.
Jets vs. OTT Notes
Season Series
The Jets and Senators play each other twice this season… Winnipeg won the first meeting 5-1 on Dec. 20 at Canada Life Centre.
Recent History
The Jets have won the past two games against the Senators and are 14-6-1 during the past 21 games against Ottawa… The road team has won three of the past four meetings between Winnipeg and Ottawa.
In Ottawa
The Jets are 8-3-1 in their past 12 games in Ottawa… Winnipeg is 10-for-47 (21.3%) in the power play in the dozen games.
Player Notes
Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in career scoring against the Senators with 35 points (14G, 21A) in 46 games… Eleven of the 35 points have come on the power play (2G, 9A)… Mark Scheifele has 30 points (10G, 20A) in 28 games against Ottawa, including a team best three game-winning goals… Kyle Connor (10G, 11A) has 21 points, while Pierre-Luc Dubois (7G, 13A) has 20 points in 18 games against the Senators.
OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:
LAST GAME: Jan. 20, 4-1 loss at Pittsburgh: Guentzel (two goals, one assist) factored in on three of the Penguins’ four goals as Ottawa suffered a 4-1 loss at PPG Paints Arena. The defeat was their 11th consecutive at Pittsburgh dating to the 2013-14 season. Rakell (with his team leading eight power-play goal) opened the scoring before a marker from Zucker 43 seconds later saw the Penguins record their second-fastest two goals of the campaign. Tkachuk’s team-high eighth road goal of the season saw Ottawa move to within two goals before Guentzel added his second of the contest for the third period’s lone goal. Jarry made 44 saves to earn the win for Pittsburgh while Talbot turned aside 40 shots to take the loss for Ottawa. Scratch: Gambrell; Injuries: Chartier, Motte, Zaitsev, Zub; Shots: OTT – 45, PIT – 44; PP: OTT – 0-3, PIT – 1-2.
BROADCAST INFORMATION: This evening’s game against Winnipeg will be broadcast nationally on Sportsnet ONE, Citytv and TVAS2 as a part of Hockey Night in Canada. On the radio, the game will be available locally via TSN 1200 (English) and 94,5 UniqueFM (French).
WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa concludes a two-game homestand on Wednesday against the N.Y. Islanders at 7 p.m. The contest will mark the second of three regular-season meetings and the second of two matchups at Canadian Tire Centre.
INJURY REPORT: C Chartier, LW Motte, D Zaitsev and D Zub are on IR and will not oppose the Jets this evening. Total man-games
lost: 160.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Re-assigned F Lucchini to Belleville (AHL) on Jan. 18.
OTTAWA vs. WINNIPEG – History:
2022-23 (0-1-0): Dec. 20 @ Winnipeg (5-1 loss), Jan. 21 @ Ottawa
2021-22 (1-1-0): 3/24/22 @ Winnipeg (5-2 win), 4/10/22 @ Ottawa (4-3 loss)
Series record (includes Atlanta): Overall: 41-27-2-8; Home: 20-12-1-6; Away: 21-15-1-2
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: 5/3/21 (2-1); @ Winnipeg: 3/24/22 (5-2)
Last Winnipeg win: @ Ottawa: 4/10/22 (4-3); @ Winnipeg: Dec. 20 (5-1)
Last OT result: 1/19/21 (4-3 OT loss) @ Ottawa
Last shootout: 11/5/15 (3-2 SO win) @ Ottawa
Most goals, game: Scored: 8, (2x, Last: 1/2/03, 8-1 win); Allowed: 8, (1/2/06, 8-3 loss); Both teams: 12, (10/21/00, 6-6 tie)
Last Game: Dec. 20, 5-1 loss @ Winnipeg; OTT Goal: Batherson; WPG Goals: Connor (x2), Stenlund, Morrissey, Gagner; OTT
Scratches: Heatherington, Lucchini; OTT Injuries: Bernard-Docker, Joseph, Norris, Stützle, Zub; OTT Goalie: Talbot; WPG Goalie: Rittich; OTT PP: 1-2; WPG PP: 0-1; Shots: 36-24.
Career vs. Winnipeg: Giroux leads all players in career games played (34), in assists (22), in points (30) and is tied with Tkachuk in goals (eight); Tkachuk leads in penalty minutes (32) against Winnipeg.
HOME ON THE RANGE: Ottawa has a record of 12-10-1 at home this season … Tim Stützle is the Senators leader with 14 goals at home while also maintaining the club lead with 17 assists at Canadian Tire Centre … Through 23 home games, Stützle leads the team with 31 points on home ice … The Senators earned a record of 15-22-4 at home through 41 home contests in 2021-22.
ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 8-12-2 on the road this season … Brady Tkachuk leads with eight goals on the road this season while also ranking first with 14 assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through 22 road games this season, Tkachuk maintains the club lead with 22 points … The Senators registered an 18-20-3 record over 41 road contests in 2021-22.
FRANCHISE RECORD: Ottawa has posted an all-time record of 1,024-1,004-115-179 over 2,322 games … The Senators are 560-445-60-98 through 1,163 all-time home games and 464-559-55-81 through 1,159 all-time road games.
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Ottawa will play back-to-back games on 12 occasions in 2022-23 and will conclude their fourth set of the season this evening when the team welcomes Winnipeg to Canadian Tire Centre… The Senators played 17 back-to-back sets last season and earned a record of 6-9-2 in the first half of contests on consecutive nights (2-2-0 this season) while posting an 8-8-1 record (2-1-0 this season) in the second half of games on consecutive days.
ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 46 for 171 (26.9%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson leads with 11 powerplay goals while also maintaining the club lead with 21 points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals 12 times in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22.
ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 124 of the 153 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 81.1% through 45 regular-season games … The team has registered four (Joseph, Motte, Watson x2) shorthanded markers this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.
