The Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs have both proved themselves to be impressive teams this season. While they have had different paths to get to where they are, they’ve both earned the same position — second in their respective divisions.
While the Jets are coming off a loss to the Montreal Canadiens that put their winning streak to a halt, the Maple Leafs are piggy-backing off of an overtime win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (Jan. 17). As the Jets prepare for this Thursday night matchup, they have to shake off the loss and be prepared to take on an energized Leafs team. Let’s take a look at the projected lines, standout storylines, and players to watch during Thursday’s game.
Winnipeg Jets Projected Lines
Forwards
Kyle Connor – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Blake Wheeler
Morgan Barron – Mark Scheifele – Nikolaj Ehlers
Cole Perfetti – Adam Lowry – Saku Maenalanen
Karson Kuhlman – Kevin Stenlund – Sam Gagner
Defenseman
Josh Morrissey – Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon – Neal Pionk
Ville Heinola – Nate Schmidt
Starting Goalie
Connor Hellebuyck
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Michael Bunting – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Calle Jarnkrok – John Tavares – Mitchell Marner
Pierre Engvall – David Kampf – Zach Aston-Reese
Dryden Hunt – Alexander Kerfoot – Bobby McMann
Defenseman
Timothy Liljegren – Morgan Rielly
Justin Holl – Mark Giordano
Conor Timmins – Jordie Benn
Starting Goalie
Matt Murray
Standout Storylines
Jets Winning Streak Ends At Three
Heading into Tuesday night’s dual against the Habs, the Jets were on a three-game heater and at the top of the Western Conference. This was the sixth time this season that the Jets have won three consecutive games, tied with the Boston Bruins for the most winning streaks of at least three games this season.
Jets’ coach Rick Bowness praised his team for earning the top spot in the Western Conference saying, “Maybe you know what we’ve been through with the travel and the injuries and the sickness and everything, and for us to be sitting there — and listen, there’s a lot of hard work ahead of us and there’s a long road to go, we know that — but it’s a credit to their resilience that we’re sitting here where we are today.”
Related: National Media Misses on Jets and Bowness Again
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