Games night: Kraken at the Jets
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SEATTLE KRAKEN (16-29-4) at WINNIPEG JETS (21-18-8)
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Thursday, 7 p.m., Canada Life Center
Television: TSN3; Radio: 680 CJOB
WHY WATCH? To see the Jets win, of course.
At least they should, based on the rankings. It’s also another must-win for the home side, playing only their second game in downtown Winnipeg with no attendance limit. The problem is, it’s also a back-to-back game: the Jets hosted the tough Minnesota Wild on Wednesday night. We expected this one to get a lot out of it. And the Kraken are a decent 4-6 in their last 10 games. So it should be competitive.
POINT HEADS
(Wednesday match not included)
Jets GP GA PTS +/-
Kyle Connor 46 26 24 50 -5
Marc Scheifele 40 14 22 36 -13
Pierre-Luc Dubois 45 20 15 35 0
Kraken GP GA PTS +/-
Jared McCann 44 20 11 31 -17
Jordan Eberle 47 13 14 27 -22
Yanni Gourde 41 10 17 27 -8
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SPECIAL TEAMS
(Wednesday match not included)
Power play: Jets 21.4% (12th); Kraken 15.7% (29th)
Penalty kill: Throws 75.0% (26th); Kraken 74.8% (27th)
THREE THINGS ABOUT THE KRAKEN
1. The Kraken will make history in Winnipeg, as team broadcaster Everett Fitzhugh and analyst JT Brown become the first all-black broadcast duo to announce an NHL game. The historic moment came when John Forslund, a Seattle television regular, was tapped to do a national show on Thursday. Enter Fitzhugh, who usually does radio. Brown has been doing color television all season.
2. There are several Manitoba connections to Seattle, starting with former Jets Brandon Tanev and Mason Appleton, both claimed in the expansion draft – Tanev from Pittsburgh, Appleton from the Jets. Tanev has nine goals, 15 points, in 30 games, while Appleton’s totals are more modest: 5-8-35. Strathclair, Man.’s Morgan Geekie has three goals, nine assists, while Winnipeg goalie and product Chris Driedger is 4-7 with a 3.25 goals-against average and .890 save percentage. .
3. There are more Winnipeg connections in Kraken’s front office, where Jason Botterill is assistant to general manager Ron Francis. Botterill, who grew up in Winnipeg, was fired as general manager at Buffalo in the summer of 2020. Oh, and former Jets 1.0 defenseman Norm MacIver is the Kraken’s director of player personnel. MacIver played for the Jets in their final season in Winnipeg, 1995-96, and was part of the move to Phoenix, where he played two more seasons.