Jets at Flames
The Winnipeg Jets travel to Calgary on Wednesday to face the Flames in a matchup of two teams that displayed plenty of offensive firepower in victories Monday. Johnny Gaudreau recorded four points in the first period and Matthew Tkachuk scored twice as Calgary recorded the first seven goals in a 7-2 rout of Vegas, while Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine netted his sixth career hat trick as the Jets fired 49 shots on goal to down Vancouver 6-3.
The Flames are 7-3-0 in their past 10 games and entered Tuesday tied with San Jose for first place in the Pacific Division with 25 points, as Gaudreau finished with a goal and three assists. “There’s not a whole bunch of them that have the ability to slow the game down and buy time for guys to get open, and he’s got it,” Calgary coach Bill Peters told reporters after Monday’s game in describing Gaudreau, who is tied for ninth in the NHL with 17 assists through Monday. Winnipeg started a four-game road trip Monday with its fourth victory in the past five games and Laine - who had just one even-strength goal on the season coming into the contest - scored twice in 5-on-5 situations and added an empty-net goal. “If you stay patient and work hard you’re going to get rewarded,” Laine told the media afterward. “I got rewarded tonight.”
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet
ABOUT THE JETS (12-5-2): Laine’s three goals give him 11 on the season, sharing the team lead with center Mark Scheifele, who netted his 11th in the first period. Forward Kyle Connor scored his 10th goal, extending his goal-scoring streak to three games, and added three assists to give him 15 points (six goals) in his past 12 games. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves for his ninth win of the season, tying him for second in the NHL.
ABOUT THE FLAMES (12-8-1): Gaudreau had just one assist in his previous five games, but tied a franchise record with his four-point period to raise his season total to 24 points in 21 games. Goaltender David Rittich stopped 20-of-22 shots to improve to 7-1-0 on the season Monday, and ranks second in goals against average (1.93) and fourth in save percentage (.931). Center Sean Monahan scored his team-leading 12th goal Monday, while Tkachuk’s two tallies give him 11 on the season.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg F Kristian Vesalainen was reassigned to Manitoba of the AHL on Tuesday.
2. Calgary F James Neal remains stuck at 499 career points after his seventh consecutive pointless game Monday.
3. The Jets have the top power-play unit in the NHL (32.1 percent), while the Flames are 24th in penalty kill (75.8).