Jets at Devils
The Winnipeg Jets joined the New Jersey Devils in being mathematically eliminated from postseason consideration despite not having to take the ice on Monday. Although grounded in the standings, the Jets will visit the Devils on Tuesday vying for their fifth win in seven outings since the teams' originally scheduled contest on March 14 was postponed due to a severe snowstorm.
"Confidence is as high as it can be," Mathieu Perreault told the Winnipeg Sun after he increased his point streak to six games (four goals, six assists) and overall point total to 21 (seven goals, 14 assists) in his last 17 contests on Sunday by scoring and setting up a goal in a 2-1 triumph over Vancouver. Captain Blake Wheeler recorded his 12th multi-point contest of the season by notching two assists and also tallied in the Jets' 3-2 victory over the Devils on Nov. 29. New Jersey's fortune hasn't been much better of late, as it dropped its third straight and 15th in 17 outings (2-12-3) with a 2-1 overtime loss to Dallas on Sunday. "We need to be more consistent on the offensive side of the blue line," Winnipeg native Travis Zajac told the Bergen Record after seeing his team held to one goal or fewer for the 23rd time this season. "I think that's kind of where our season has died, is offensively, wanting to score and beat teams and that killer instinct."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), MSG-Plus (New Jersey), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE JETS (34-35-7): Mark Scheifele, who scored and set up a goal in the first encounter with New Jersey, has collected 23 points (four goals, 19 assists) in his last 18 games. The 24-year-old has a team-leading 76 points, moving him within two of Wheeler's total last season for the most since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season. Rookie Patrik Laine (club-best 34 goals), who also tallied versus the Devils, will be a game-time decision on Monday after sitting out versus Vancouver with an illness.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (27-35-13): Coach John Hynes is giving Keith Kinkaid an extended look in net with New Jersey set to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight season. The 27-year-old Kinkaid has started four of the last six games and yielded 12 goals in that stretch, while workhorse goaltender Cory Schneider is mired in one of the worst runs of his career with a 1-8-2 mark. A lack of "run support" has been an issue for both, Hynes noted, with the 31-year-old Schneider receiving just 20 goals of offense in that 11-game stretch.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg has recorded at least a point in five straight encounters (3-0-2) versus New Jersey and owns a 7-1-2 mark in its last 10.
2. Devils LW Taylor Hall has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his last 17 games.
3. The Jets, who have scored on the power play in a season-high seven consecutive contests, officially were eliminated following St. Louis' 4-1 victory over Arizona on Monday night.