Feisty Flames turn up the heat on Jets
When the hockey world’s eyes are on Saskatchewan for the Heritage Classic, they should focus on the expected battle between Winnipeg defenceman Josh Morrissey and Calgary forward Matthew Tkachuk.
The Flames’ leading point getter is coming off a two-goal game on Thursday — a 6-5 shootout win over the Panthers in Florida.
Morrissey, meanwhile, is coming off a game where he got soundly beat by Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings. The veteran centre’s third period power play goal turned out to be the game winner.
Morrissey knows he can be better, and he’ll have to be against Tkachuk and a feisty Flames lineup.
Here are five things to watch for when Calgary (6-5-1) lines up against Winnipeg (5-6-0) in Regina:
1. Hellebuyck Strong Connor Hellebuyck did all he could to keep the Jets in their 3-2 loss to the Kings on Tuesday, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. Still, Hellebuyck has been a strength for the Jets, who have lost four of their last five. In eight starts this season, Hellebuyck is 4-4-0 with a .929 save percentage and one shutout. The veteran netminder’s save percentage at five-on-five is a healthy .945, fifth among goalies with 200 or more minutes played this season.
2. 5-on-5 revival? The Jets snapped an ugly streak of not scoring a five-onfive goal in Tuesday’s loss. The ordeal lasted nearly 13 periods between goals. Winnipeg scored twice with both teams at full strength in the game, with Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers each notching markers.
3. Penalty kill woes It started to look like the Jets were taking a step toward moving their penalty kill out of the basement of the NHL this week. They killed off two penalties in the first period, but gave up a third-period tally while down a man that won it for the Kings. The Jets are killing off just 63.6 per cent of the opposing team’s power plays this season.
4. Power play misfiring Winnipeg’s power play looked to be on the up and up when they went 5-for-18 in their previous four games prior to a 1-0 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers last Sunday. Since then, they’ve gone 0-for-9. In Thursday’s loss to the Kings, the Jets replaced Morrissey with Neal Pionk as the anchor on the point. The Jets went 0-for-5 in that game, creating just nine shots across those opportunities.
5. Lowry’s status Adam Lowry took a big hit in Tuesday’s loss, but was able to remain in the game after missing one shift. However, Winnipeg’s bruising centre didn’t practice on Tuesday. Jets head coach Paul Maurice said he’ll likely play in Saturday’s game. Meanwhile, Nikolaj Ehlers appeared to pick up a knock at the tail end of Tuesday’s session. He left the ice, but practice was effectively over at the time. Both will be worthy of monitoring at Saturday’s morning skate.