After a homestand that featured two shutouts and four straight wins, the Winnipeg Jets are looking to channel that success on the road, as they have one game on home ice for the rest of November.
The extended road stay starts in New York Tuesday as the Jets will do battle with the Rangers.
The Rangers have had a good start to the season just like the Jets, going 9-3-1 in their first 13 games, which is good enough for 10th in the NHL.
“We know they’re one of the lite teams in the east. They can score goals, they have the ability to transition quickly, and they got some elite players,” said Jets Head Coach Scott Arniel.
“As we’ve talked about against other teams that are like this, that rush game, we’ve got to eliminate how much we allow them to do that (with that) second wave that comes with (Adam) Fox and the defence. Obviously, we got to make sure that we have numbers pouring back and shutting that down whenever possible.”
The Jets have already played a lot of hockey in the first month and a half of the season and have a lot more to play in November with nine more games on the schedule.
Even with all the hockey that is coming up in the near future for Winnipeg, Arniel said his team has been really good at only focusing on the game at hand and moving on from all previous performances.
“It’s been every other night, and you can’t get caught up in what you’ve just done or what’s ahead of you. You got to worry about your next opponent, and for us, that’s the New York Rangers. And these guys have done a great job of resetting. Every opponent plays a little bit different. They have different star players, different ways they come at you. So you got to reset. This isn’t Dallas; this is New York. Another opportunity to go out and get two points.”
There will be a change on the back end for the Jets as Logan Stanley did not make the trip with the team due to an injury. He was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 9.
With that, Haydn Fleury will make his way back into the lineup—his first action since the first four games of the season.
He said the most important part of the game for him is keeping things simple.
“I was just saying, try and you that first shift, get a bump in or get something in, make a strong pass, something like that, wherever it is. Get yourself into the game, and after that, the game slows down, and you get going from there,” said Fleury.
Connor Hellebuyck will be in net for the Jets as they try to improve their league-leading record to 15-1-0 starting at 6 p.m. from Madison Square Garden.