Edmonton Oilers: Previewing The Winnipeg Jets Before The Playoffs
By Jim Lynch
The Edmonton Oilers start their series against the Winnipeg Jets tomorrow night, and we have our preview on the Jets.
The Edmonton Oilers played the Jets a lot this past season, but that was the regular season, this is the playoffs. Just because the Oilers beat Winnipeg in seven of their nine meetings doesn’t mean they automatically get to advance into the next round of the playoffs.
Winnipeg is a team built for the playoffs. They have a lot of physical players and have one of the best goalies around. So, let’s talk about the Jets ahead of tomorrow’s series getting underway.
The Jets are led by Mark Scheifele who put up 63 points in 56 games this past season. They had an above-average power play and their penalty kill was as good as any around. While the Jets are scoring goals, it is their defense that sets them apart from other teams with the team only averaging 2.55 goals against on average.
The Jet’s have a deep lineup and they have 17 players that put up at least 30 hits this season. They play physically and they aren’t afraid to block shots when they need to as Derek Forbort blocked 115 this past season.
The Jets kind of fell off the radar towards the end of the season as they were not playing good hockey. They lost nine of their last twelve games, but now they have had a few days to really gear up for this series and make sure they are on top of their game.
Here is what the Oilers can expect to see lineup-wise tomorrow night:
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Connor – Scheifele – Wheeler
Perreault – Stastny – Dubois
Toninato – Lowry – Appleton
Harkins – Thompson – Lewis
Morrissey – Demelo
Forbort – Pionk
Stanley – Benn
Hellebuyck
The Jets do have a pretty good top-six. The Oilers are going to want to make sure that they are shutting down Scheifele and Wheeler every time they are on the ice. That could mean playing a checking third our fourth line against them, but it also could just mean playing McDavid.
Sometimes puck possession is the best way to shut down an opposing offense, and McDavid is one of the best at getting and keeping the puck away from opponents. This Jets team is not afraid of playing physically, but the longer the Oilers keep the puck in the offensive zone the more likely the Jets are of breaking down.
Edmonton needs to cycle the puck around in the offensive zone and not take the first chance they see, as the more they control the play the more likely Winnipeg will make a mistake that leads to a goal on Hellebuyck.