The Winnipeg Jets will face off against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday, February 23, at 8:30 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN+ and NBCS-CHI.
Winnipeg, with a record of 34 wins, 15 losses, and 5 overtime losses, secured a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild in their most recent game on February 20, playing at home.
Meanwhile, with a record of 15 wins, 39 losses, and 3 overtime losses, the Chicago Blackhawks played their last game at home on February 21, suffering a 3-1 defeat against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Jets are the NHL's leading defense, having conceded 127 total goals, and will face the league's lowest-scoring offense, the Blackhawks, who have scored 118 goals.
Over the past 10 games, the Jets are 4-5-1, netting 20 goals during that period. On the other hand, the Chicago Blackhawks have struggled in their last 10 contests, going 1-8-1 and managing 16 goals.
Winnipeg Jets projected lineups
Forwards
- Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Gabriel Vilardi
- Cole Perfetti - Sean Monahan - Nikolaj Ehlers
- Nino Niederreiter - Adam Lowry - Mason Appleton
- Morgan Barron - Vladislav Namestnikov - Alex Iafallo
Defensemen
- Josh Morrissey - Dylan DeMelo
- Brenden Dillon - Neal Pionk
- Dylan Samberg - Nate Schmidt
Goalies
- Connor Hellebuyck
- Laurent Brossoit
Winnipeg Jets starting goalie
Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start for the Jets. Here are his stats for this season:
- Games Played (GP): 40
- Games Started (GS): 40
- Wins: 26
- Losses: 11
- Overtime Losses (OTL): 3
- Goals Against (GA): 88
- Goals Against Average (GA/G): 2.20
- Shots Against (SA): 1167
- Saves (SV): 1079
- Save Percentage (SV%): .925
- Shutouts (SO): 3
- Time on Ice per Game (TOI/G): 60 minutes and 4 seconds
Chicago Blackhawks projected lineups
Forwards
- Nick Foligno - Connor Bedard - Philipp Kurashev
- Colin Blackwell - Jason Dickinson - Joey Anderson
- Anthony Beauvillier - Tyler Johnson - Taylor Raddysh
- Ryan Donato - MacKenzie Entwistle - Reese Johnson
Defensemen
- Alex Vlasic - Seth Jones
- Kevin Korchinski - Jaycob Megna
- Isaak Phillips - Jarred Tinordi
Goalies
- Petr Mrazek
- Arvid Soderblom
Chicago Blackhawks starting goalie
Petr Mrazek is expected to start for the Blackhawks. Here are his stats for this season:
- Games Played (GP): 39
- Games Started (GS): 37
- Wins: 13
- Losses: 22
- Overtime Losses (OTL): 2
- Goals Against (GA): 110
- Goals Against Average (GA/G): 2.99
- Shots Against (SA): 1215
- Saves (SV): 1105
- Save Percentage (SV%): .909
- Shutouts (SO): 1
- Time on Ice per Game (TOI/G): 56 minutes and 37 seconds