Winnipeg Jets at San Jose Sharks
Sure, the Jets got outplayed in their 3-2 win in Anaheim on Tuesday to give the Ducks their first regulation loss. All the same, that’s four straight regulation-or-overtime wins (ROW) for the Jets since they hired Paul Maurice as head coach. This is a good team when they get the goaltending they are getting – Ondrej Pavelec has allowed just seven goals in his last four games – and the return of Evander Kane and promotion of Dustin Byfuglien gives this team three legitimate scoring lines, something I don’t think this franchise has ever had.
San Jose has won four games in a row though they were against pretty soft competition (Washington, Florida, Tampa Bay, Calgary; the Lightning are a small exception here). One of the bright spots for them has been the play of Antti Niemi, the goaltender who has a Stanley Cup but is having a very pedestrian season so far (his .919 even strength save percentage is sixth-worst among goals with at least 24 starts this year and there are 28 of them); Niemi has allowed just nine goals against in his last five games.
The roof has to come down on the Jets at some point and a road game in San Jose sounds like a good time for that to happen. These two teams met once earlier in the season in Winnipeg, a 5-4 win for the Jets in a shootout. I anticipate another one goal game here tonight.
Niemi’s price has dropped enough that I feel comfortable going with him in my lineups (though he’s not confirmed to start yet, so stay tuned to Left Wing Lock).
|
Top RW Value |
Top LW Value |
Top C Value |
Top D Value |
Bargain Bin |
|
Michael Frolik $7600 |
Patrick Marleau |
(WPG) $8350 |
Jacob Trouba |
Matt Nieto (SJS) |
Good luck!
