Utah Hockey Club vs Winnipeg Jets Game Preview & Starting Lineups

The Utah Hockey Club is set to take their biggest test of the season. Utah is in Winnipeg tonight and will match up with the Jets, who are 11-1 with 22 points and would win the President's Trophy if the NHL season ended today.

Coming into this game with Utah, the Jets have won three straight games and have outscored those opponents 19-8. In addition to dominating almost every team the Winnipeg Jets have played this season. Historically, they have dominated the Arizona Coyotes, now Utah Hockey Club, for the past three seasons. The Jets have won 10 straight games against this Utah team, outscoring them 37-19 in those 10 games.

On the other hand, Utah has been struggling, losing seven of its last nine games. Despite the struggles to consistently get back in the win column, Utah's offence has come back to life, scoring three goals in its last three games.

Utah Hockey Club vs Winnipeg Jets Starting Lineups

With Utah's offence coming back to life since Head Coach Andre Tourigny shook up the lineup a few games ago, there will be no changes to the forward lines tonight. Utah will need all four lines to be sharp tonight because the Jets come at you in waves with multiple units that can put the puck in the net.

On the back end, we will see Juuso Valimaki get back into the lineup again after being the seventh defenseman on Saturday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Valimaki had a rough start to the season after being a healthy scratch for multiple games; his name has started to appear in trade rumours. Is Utah getting him back in the lineup to show him off to other teams, or will he be a consistent piece of this blueline again?

Karel Vejmelka will get the nod in between the pipes. Vejmelka has only made two starts this season but has got into three games. Utah is 0-2 in the games Vejmelka has started. However, he has been better than Connor Ingram in the small sample size Vejmelka has played.

The Jets' lineup looks standard as well. Their top line, led by Kyle Connor, who leads the NHL in points, dominates. The second line is bolstered by Nikolaj Ehlers, who has 17 points in 12 games. Their third and fourth lines are debatable as the best bottom six in hockey.

Outside of their top pairing, the Jets' defensive core leaves a little bit to be desired, but that is okay, considering the Jets have a two-time Vezina Trophy champion in their net in Connor Hellebuyck, who is in the early running to win this award again.

Utah is going to have its hands full tonight. If Utah wins this game, it will likely take its best effort of the season, but winning against this calibre opponent could spark much-needed momentum for this team.