Winners of their last seven games, the Winnipeg Jets will try to make some team history when they host another red-hot opponent in the New York Islanders on Friday.
An eighth straight victory would equal the longest winning streak in Jets franchise history. Winnipeg also matched that team record with its season-opening eight-game win streak, and the Jets reeled off another seven-game streak as part of their 15-1-0 record in their first 16 games.
Beyond that dream start, the Jets have stayed at or near the top of the NHL standings due to excellent all-around play. The Jets lead the league in both average goals per game (3.60) and fewest goals allowed per game (2.38).
“We want to be frustrating to play against,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said after Tuesday’s 3-0 shutout of the Carolina Hurricanes.
“That’s the mentality of us taking it to teams, playing Jet hockey. That’s the buy-in, everybody doing it. When we do it, we get results from different lines, we get results from different defensemen. Our success comes from our team game.”
As impressive as the Jets have been, the Islanders have been a difficult opponent in recent years. New York is 8-1-0 in the last nine meetings between the two teams, dating back to the 2018-19 season.
Winnipeg is also catching an Islanders team on the upswing. Languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference just a month ago, the Islanders have roared back into the playoff race with an 11-3-0 record in their last 14 games.
This hot stretch included a seven-game win streak that ended with Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. New York rebounded with a 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, as the Islanders overcame a 34-14 shots deficit for the unlikely triumph.
“Five games in seven days, and we have so many injuries, and we keep playing. … People love people that refuse to go down, and when they do go down, they go back up,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said.
Goaltender Ilya Sorokin has a 1.16 goals-against average and a perfect 7-0-0 record in his last seven games. Roy said he plans to start Sorokin against both the Jets and the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, as Sorokin will have time to recover from the consecutive starts when the league’s 4 Nations Face-Off break begins Monday.
Connor Hellebuyck will start for Winnipeg, setting up a tremendous goaltending duel with Sorokin. Hellebuyck leads NHL goalies in several major statistical categories, including wins (33), GAA (2.04) and shutouts (six).
Mark Scheifele will become the leading scorer in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history with a goal on Friday. Scheifele has 328 goals as a Jet, tied with Ilya Kovalchuk atop the franchise record books.
The Islanders’ hot streak has coincided with a vastly improved penalty-kill unit, as opponents are just 2-for-27 on the power play in New York’s last 14 games. This improvement will be tested by the Jets’ league-leading power play, which is 8-for-16 with the extra attacker over Winnipeg’s last six games.
Defenseman Scott Mayfield has missed New York’s last two games with a lower-body injury, and he won’t return before the 4 Nations break.
Kyle Connor leads the Jets with 67 points (30 goals, 37 assists). Bo Horvat leads the Islanders with 40 points (19 goals, 21 assists).
–Field Level Media
