Golden Knights at Jets
The Winnipeg Jets finished with the league's second-highest point total last season but their Stanley Cup aspirations ended when they were wiped out by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference finals. The teams will square off for the first time since that five-game series when the surging Golden Knights visit the Jets on Tuesday night.
“Last year they took it from us," Winnipeg forward Mathieu Perreault said. "But we have a chance to redeem ourselves a little bit and match up against one of the better teams in the league.” The Jets, who were limited to only six goals in losing the final four games in May, will try to complete a perfect three-game homestand and remain atop the Central Division. The Golden Knights erased a pair of two-goal deficits in a 4-3 overtime victory at the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night to improve to 8-1-0 in their last nine games. “It’s just the kind of thing you need when you’re trying to prove you’re a good team,” Vegas defenseman Nate Schmidt said.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas), TSN3 (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (28-16-4): Alex Tuch scored once and set up another in Saturday's win to boost his team leading totals in goals (15), assists (22) and points (37), matching his totals from last season in all three categories. Tuch also extended his point streak to nine games, amassing three goals and eight assists, while playing on a line with Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny, who has four goals and nine points in nine games since the Christmas break. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who flustered Winnipeg in the playoffs last season, has only one regulation defeat in his last 14 starts (10-1-3).
ABOUT THE JETS (29-14-2): Since being held off the scoresheet in six straight games, Bryan Little has scored four times during his current five-game point streak, including back-to-back game-winning goals that gave him 30 for his career. Winnipeg has been short-handed on the blue line with Dustin Byfuglien sidelined since Dec. 29, but fellow defenseman Tyler Myers could be ready to play Tuesday after sitting out the past two games. "I'm going to make the call tomorrow morning with the staff. I'll give it one more skate before I give a definitive answer, but I feel pretty good right now," Myers said Monday.
OVERTIME
1. Vegas F William Karlsson, held without a point in the last seven games, had three goals in three meetings versus the Jets last season.
2. Jets G Connor Hellebuyck allowed 12 goals in three regular-season matchups versus Vegas last season.
3. Pacioretty had six goals and 15 points in 23 games against Winnipeg during his tenure with Montreal.