The Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers clash Sunday night in a NHL matchup at the Madison Square Garden on TSN.
The Winnipeg Jets could use a bounce back road victory after losing five of their last eight games. The Jets are averaging 2.7 goals per game and are scoring on 10.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Patrik Laine leads Winnipeg with seven goals, Mark Scheifele has six assists and Blake Wheeler has 40 shots on goal. Defensively, the Winnipeg Jets are allowing three goals per game and are killing 81.8 percent of their opponents power plays. Connor Hellebuyck has given up 17 goals on 195 shots faced and Michael Hutchinson has allowed 18 goals on 181 shots. The Winnipeg Jets have scored three or more goals in six of their 12 games this season.
he New York Rangers look to keep the puck rolling after winning seven of their last eight games. The Rangers are averaging 4.1 goals per game and are scoring on 22 percent of their power play opportunities. Michael Grabner leads New York with seven goals, Derek Stepan has nine assists and Rick Nash has 35 shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Rangers are allowing 2.3 goals per game and are killing 80.6 percent of their opponents power plays. Henrik Lundqvist has given up 20 goals on 230 shots faced and Antti Raanta has allowed seven goals on 100 shots. The New York Rangers have scored 21 goals during their current four-game winning streak.
The Jets are 1-6 in their last 7 Sunday games and 1-4 in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest. The Rangers are 5-0 in their last 5 home games and 46-22 in their last 68 vs. a team with a losing record. The Jets are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in New York and the road team is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.
The Rangers are one of the hotter teams in the league right now and have an offense that's scored five or more goals in five straight games. There may be some value given that New York did play last night, but the Jets aren't in great form heading into this contest and have been hit or miss all season. Have to keep riding the hot hand in the Rangers.
ABOUT THE JETS (5-6-1): After placing defenseman Tyler Myers on injured reserve, losing Shawn Matthias to a lower-body injury and scratching Mathieu Perreault, Joel Armia and blue-liner Mark Stuart from Friday’s lineup, Winnipeg reshuffled its lines and snapped its three-game winless streak. Patrik Laine scored his seventh goal of the season, keeping the rookie among the league leaders, and Mark Scheifele recorded a three-point performance. The Jets have not surrendered a power-play goal in four of their last five contests.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (9-3-0): New York is the second team to register nine wins (Montreal has 21 points) and Stepan produced another big effort in Saturday’s victory, recording one goal and two assists to give him five points in his last three contests. Michael Grabner netted a tally and set up another versus Boston, giving him seven points in his last four games. Antti Raanta stopped 35-of-37 shots Saturday, but the Rangers likely will turn to Henrik Lundqvist – who posted his first shutout of the season on Thursday – in net Sunday.
OVERTIME
1. New York entered Saturday as the only team in the NHL to have seven or more players with four or more goals.
2. Winnipeg G Connor Hellebuyck is 2-1-0 in his last three starts, allowing seven goals on 99 shots.
3. Lundqvist has turned aside 128-of-138 shots in going 4-1-0 with a shutout in his last five starts.
PREDICTION: Rangers 3, Jets 1
National Hockey League , hockey
