The Pacific Division-leading Ducks will come in having won five straight games, and seven of their last eight. In four of those, they held foes to just a single goal.
Among the commanding Ws was actually a 3-1 victory against the Jets just under a week ago. Rickard Rakell (32 Gs, 15 As) and Ryan Kesler (21 Gs, 32 As), the team’s top two scorers weren’t able to shine like they normally would, but the next guys in line – Jakob Silfverberg, Corey Perry, and Andrew Cogliano – did, as all three each found the back of the net.
That win moved Anaheim to 2-0 in their season season series with Winnipeg, whom they are also 7-1 against since 2014. Considering the Ducks’ great defense, as evidenced by placing inside the top four in goals against, save percentage, and penalty killing percentage, they should be in a good position to continue the reign.
Current starting goalie Jonathan Bernier, who’s in place for the limited John Gibson (lower body) has been performing really well. He’s 9-0-1 in his last 10 starts, and has earned a 94.7 save percentage in that span.
Winnipeg, as you may know, has been eliminated for the postseason. They’re just playing the season through for experience and momentum for the next year, which is going good these past two weeks. The team has come out on top in five of their last seven outings, with four of them coming only by one goal.
The Jets are pure offense. They are eighth in the NHL in goals (229), but only 28th in goals allowed (244) and save percentage (89.8).
In trying to gain a rare win over the Ducks, we can obviously expect their great rookie, Patrick Laine, to be a focal point in the attack. The 18-year-old has 34 goals (sixth in the league) and 27 assists this season, and also leads the NHL in hat-tricks, with three. Though they’re eliminated, the kid has an excellent case to run away with the Rookie of the Year plum – yes, over the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews, who’ll be playing in the playoffs.
