GAMEDAY: Mammoth at Jets

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets hope to close out their three-game homestand today against the Utah Mammoth (TSN3, 680 CJOB/Power 97).

The Mammoth come into Winnipeg sitting atop the Central Division having won six in a row and are two points up on the Jets.

“The Central Division is stacked. I think top to bottom. You get a team like Utah that didn’t make the playoffs last year, they look like they’ve taken a big step,” said Neal Pionk.

“You look at a team like Chicago; they look like they’ve taken a big step. So, it’s a challenge every night.”

The Jets dodged a bullet on Friday night after Pionk took a slapshot off the leg in the win over Calgary. The defenceman was down for a moment and then hobbled around the defensive zone for a while before hitting the puck to a teammate to allow them to clear the zone. Pionk said his leg is fine.

“Yeah, it was more that it caught me by surprise. I was looking for my guy in d-zone coverage and all of a sudden, I heard a slapshot, I didn’t see it,” said Pionk.

“Next thing I knew it hit my leg. So, it caught me by surprise, and I was fine after that.”

Watch the Jets pregame show "The Check In" at 12:30 CT with Sara Orlesky and Jamie Thomas on YouTube, Facebook or X.

The Mammoth played Saturday afternoon at Minnesota, so the Jets will be hoping to jump on them early.

"Yeah. Absolutely. I think we want to have a hot start,” said Cole Koepke.

“Regardless, in any game, but especially if you can try and catch a team that's coming off of -- like you said, they're playing (yesterday) and they'll have travel -- so a quick turnaround for them, so I think if we can be a little bit more fresh hopefully, come out at the start, and get all over them right away."

Koepke is one of the new free agent additions from the off-season and it’s safe to say that so far so good in his short time as a Jet.

"Yeah, it's been awesome,” said Koepke.

“I knew this team was great when I signed and then just knowing Dyl (Samberg) and Neal (Pionk), hearing them talk about how close the group is and just how well they're treated here, I came in with high expectations, and it's definitely exceeded them.”

Koepke has been a great addition with his work on the penalty kill and on the fourth line with Morgan Barron and Tanner Pearson. The 27-year-old has played with stars like Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman in Tampa and David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy in Boston. He has enjoyed seeing Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey perform each night.

“It's fun. It's crazy. I joke with Bear on the bench all the time, or Tanner when I'm sitting by him. Like, 'They're playing a different game out there.' I'll joke sometimes, 'They're like the Harlem Globetrotters in the o-zone.',” said Koepke.

“Like when J-Mo's out there, all of them are just wheeling and dealing, passing the puck, gives, goes, and the next thing you know it's in the back of the net.”

Koepke and company will have their hands full with Utah who have won six straight games for the first time in franchise history. Mammoth stars Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz have combined for 12 goals over Utah’s last three games.

The Jets will not have a morning skate today. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 CT.