Toronto Maple Leafs at Winnipeg Jets
The Leafs are coming off a 7-1 thumping at the hands of the Dallas Stars, the third time this month they’ve lost by at least five goals. Sure, they had their winning streak but in my opinion it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors, i.e. relying on their power play and goaltending. One thing that has gone unnoticed because of their winning ways of late is the penalty kill that has given up a goal in four of their last five games. So far on their road trip, the Leafs have been outshot by a margin of seven through the three games, an indication of the lopsided play they’ve endured at times.
Winnipeg had their four-game winning streak halted in San Jose in a 1-0 loss and there’s no shame in that one. What’s more worrisome is that in their last two games, the Jets have been outshot 74-41. Those games were to Anaheim and San Jose, but that’s a lot of chasing the other team around. The once-hot power play has gone cold recently, going goalless over their previous 10 chances in their last three games, giving up two against the other way. A big bright spot for this team is Jacob Trouba, the rookie defenseman who has now cracked 23 minutes of ice time in three straight games and is getting the second unit minutes on the power play.
I do think the Jets take this game tonight but it makes me nervous. I don’t like relying on teams returning from road trips and it’s not like Ondrej Pavelec is a reliable goaltender. I’ll probably stay away from both goalies but will pick at the skaters (mostly Jets).
One quick note: Mark Scheifele, Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler have looked really good together and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pick a couple of these guys – I would go Scheifele/Kane personally – in some lineups. There’s a lot of speed and playmaking that could give the depth defensemen on Toronto fits.
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Top RW Value |
Top LW Value |
Top C Value |
Top D Value |
Bargain Bin |
|
(WPG) $6987 |
(WPG) $9242 |
Mark Scheifele (WPG) $8243 |
Jacob Trouba (WPG) $9696 |
(TOR) $3807 |
