Knights return home from long trip to take on league-leading Jets

Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice, minutes after winning the Stanley Cup this past June, had only one wish for this season.

“It would be for the Winnipeg Jets to win the next Stanley Cup,” the former Winnipeg coach said.

So far, the Jets are taking Maurice up on his challenge. Winnipeg has stormed to the top of the league standings with 36 points and a league-best 18-5-0 record.

That’s what lies ahead for the Golden Knights. What a way to come back home after spending the last week-plus away.

The Knights will play at T-Mobile Arena for the first time since Nov. 17 after earning seven of a possible 10 points on a season-long five-game road trip.

“Make no bones about it. We’d like to win every game. That’s not going to happen,” coach Bruce Cassidy said.

Not only do the Knights have to contend with the Jets, but it’s the first game of a back-to-back at home. They’ll face the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday for the final time this season.

The Jets got off to the best start in NHL history, winning 15 of their first 16 games while outscoring opponents 73-34.

But that 15th win, on Nov. 12 against the New York Rangers, began a grueling stretch for Winnipeg with nine of 10 games on the road. The losses have piled up in the process — four, all in regulation, in their past seven games.

That scorching offense has since cooled with just 17 goals in that stretch.

The one constant for Winnipeg hasn’t been the scoring, but the goaltending, and Connor Hellebuyck is off to another tremendous start. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner has won 15 of his 18 starts with a .928 save percentage and three shutouts.

Hellebuyck gave up three goals Wednesday in the Jets’ 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

If the Knights are looking for any bit of positivity going into this matchup, they’ve had success against Hellebuyck. He’s 6-4-2 in 13 appearances against the Knights, but Hellebuyck has given up 15 goals in his past three starts, all regulation losses.

That’s good news for the Knights after finding the back of the net one time in their 2-1 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.

Cassidy said fatigue set in as the game went on, as expected, but felt the offense could’ve created more while not being held to 19 shots on the road.

“We need a little bit more from certain people to make it easier on ourselves,” Cassidy said. “That didn’t happen (Wednesday). Hopefully, on Friday, it will.”

Part of getting the offense going could be getting some players back.

Captain Mark Stone has missed the past 10 games with a lower-body injury, and his status is up in the air with the Knights likely not having morning skate Friday. Right wing Victor Olofsson is still on his conditioning assignment with the Silver Knights, but could also be inching toward a return.

The Knights have been able to get by, especially without Stone, going 5-3-2 in his absence. But the fifth-best scoring offense in the league (3.74 goals per game) has been held to 2.90 in the past 10 games.

The good news for the Knights is they’ll be home for longer than one day. Their toughest opponent to date is waiting for them.

“You just look at their record and you see how they started the season,” center Cole Schwindt said. “We’ve kind of had them circled for a while. We know who we’re chasing, and it’ll be a fun game, for sure.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.