The Jets look to build on their skid-snapping win and regain momentum as they take on a surging Sabres team that has won five of their last eight games.
On Monday, the Winnipeg Jets return to action after snapping their four-game skid on the road Saturday with a win in the Music City against the Nashville Predators. They look to keep things rolling and start climbing back into the playoff race when taking on the Buffalo Sabres, who are starting to pick things up with five wins over their last eight games.
It'll be the 74th all-time meeting between the two clubs with the Jets holding the upperhand historically with a 41-25-1-6 record overall. The Jets may look to deploy their rookie goaltender Thomas Milic after his NHL debut Friday in which he held Winnipeg in the game with 30 saves but allowed four goals.
Lineup Storylines
The Jets more depth-oriented approach was an interesting look for the team with Jonathan Toews dropping to the fourth line but regularly schedule programming is expected to resume Monday with the top line staying intact while we see similar looks through the rest of the lineup.
Toews will again take the second line center spot and will have Cole Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov on his wings while the third unit will have Nino Niederreiter and Adam Lowry together as per usual with Alex Iafallo on the opposite wing.
The biggest story line with the lineup will be how Luke Schenn looks in this one as he is expected to draw in for rookie Elias Salomonsson. Schenn has seen little action this season, playing just 17 games as he sits with the second-worst even strength goal differential for the Winnipeg defense at -5 with 14 goals allowed this season (five on the power play, nine at even strength).
The 36-year-old veteran is also not playing a lot of minute at just under 14 minutes per game, which underscores how poor his defensive play has been this season. He will look to build off his performance in Saturday's win, where he dished for two assists, bringing his season total up to four.
For Buffalo, they are having another troubling year with a 10-11-4 record due to their backend that is sixth-worst in the NHL, averaging 3.44 goals against per game. Their offense is also below average with 2.96 goals per game which is tied for 18th-best in the league with the Utah Mammoth and the Vancouver Canucks.
Over their recent eight-game surge, the offense has taken a major step forward, averaging 3.63 goals per game, which is the sixth-highest mark in the NHL during that span. They could give the Jets a real challenge, especially with Winnipeg’s defense slipping, having surrendered 35 goals in its last ten games after finishing the previous two seasons as the league’s top defensive unit. Buffalo’s franchise cornerstones in Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch have also caught fire, each posting seven points during this scorching eight-game run.
Goalie Matchup:
Winnipeg: Thomas Milic Expected (NHL Debut vs CAR: 30 Saves on 34 Shots, Four Goals Against)
Buffalo: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Expected (Season: 3-3-1 record, 2.72 GAA, .890 SV% | VS WPG: 1-2-1 record, 2.73 GAA, .913 SV% in four games)
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