Winnipeg Chases Momentum in Philly, Looking to End Long Struggles Against Flyers

The Winnipeg Jets look to string together their first three-game winning streak of the season when travelling to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Philadelphia Flyers. After a dominant 5-2 victory over the Islanders, the Jets look to extend their winning ways against a Flyers team they've routinely struggled against.

Philadelphia is 14-6-1 against Winnipeg over their last 21 matchups and are coming off a surprising win this past Monday against the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions in the Florida Panthers.  Flyers top center Sean Couturier led the charge with two goals and two assists for a four-point effort in the win.

The Jets will look to respond with their deadly top line duo of Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, who have a combined six goals through three games. They'll look to take advantage of a Flyers defense that finished bottom five in defense last season and hasn't improved with Samuel Ersson expected to get the start Thursday.

Ersson has a 8-10-4 record and a 3.63 average of his last 23 starts but has impressive numbers in this matchup. Winnipeg will likely go to their reigning league MVP in net with Connor Hellebuyck, who is also coming off back-to-back Vezina trophy wins. 

The Jets have seen little production out of their middle six forward group with Jonathan Toews, Gustav Nyquist, Vladislav Namestnikov and rookie Nikita Chibrikov all without a goal through three games. It is a bit early to call it concerning but their second line having just one goal so far with Alex Iafallo will get a bit alarming if it isn't improved upon.

The poor Phildelphia defense can hopefully get top line winger Gabe Vilardi his first goal of the season as he also sits with none to start the season. Hopefully he can draw some energy from the Jets' fourth line center in Morgan Barron, who has been red hot as the former sixth round pick is having the best start to a season of his career with two goals and two assists for four points through his first three games. 

They'll need to outdo some of the rising talent within the Flyers lineup like the young Matvei Michkov. The 20-year-old winger is entering his sophomore season after coming close in the Calder trophy race last season with 26 goals and 37 assists for 63 points in 80 games. The breakout rookie has no points to start the season but will likely still be a focal point of the Jets defense. 

Philadelphia made headlines in the off-season when trading for one of the youngest rising stars in the NHL with Anaheim's Trevor Zegras. The 24-year-old New York native is known for his trickster plays and jaw-dropping moves which he'll look to deploy on the Jets Thursday. 

WPG ML (-139) | PHI ML (+115)

WPG -1.5 (+170) | PHI +1.5 (-208)

O/U 5.5 Goals

Many fans are hoping for a high-scoring matchup, especially with the offensive talent we mentioned earlier, Winnipeg’s Jonathan Toews, Gustav Nyquist, Vladislav Namestnikov, and rookie Nikita Chibrikov, along with Philadelphia’s Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras.

Unfortunately for them, the Jets and Flyers don't normally do that with under six goals in 17 of their last 25 matchups. With how poor the Flyers backend has been last season and their goaltending struggles heading into this season, it's the Jets game to lose. 

Michkov will need to be slowed down as Winnipeg has only faced off against the youngster twice and he scored in their most recent matchup this past March. Zegras has gone without a point in four straight matchups against the Jets while Couturier has also struggled in this matchup with no points in three straight matchups and just eight points in 22 career games versus Winnipeg. 

On the Jets end, Nyquist will look to snap his cold drought with points in four straight against the Flyers, including a pair of goals and should do well alongside Toews, who has six points over his last four games against Philadelphia. The hope is the duo have their first standout performance of the season and their rookie linemate in Chibrikov gets on the board for the first time this season. 

Winnipeg: Connor Hellebuyck Expected (VS PHI: 3-6-1 record 2.55 GAA, .922 SV% in 10 Games)

Philadelphia: Samuel Ersson (VS WPG: 2-1-0 record, 1.67 GAA, .945 SV% in Three Games)