Jets at Flyers
The Winnipeg Jets vaulted to the top of the Central Division on the strength of a four-game winning streak before sustaining a misstep in the last outing prior to their league-mandated bye week. The well-rested Jets look to ignite their high-octane offense on Monday when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers, who won three in a row to move out of the basement in the Metropolitan.
Kyle Connor scored in Winnipeg's 4-2 setback to Dallas on Jan. 19 and was one of seven different players on his team to find the net in the Jets' 7-1 romp over visiting Philadelphia on Dec. 9. The 22-year-old Connor answered a disastrous December in which he recorded just four points by erupting for 10 (six goals, four assists) in his last eight games. The Flyers' goaltender carousel appears to have stopped on prized rookie Carter Hart, who has emerged victorious in four of his last five outings and turned aside 106 of 115 shots during the winning streak. It is not immediately known whether Hart or the returning Anthony Stolarz (lower body) will get the nod on Monday, with the Flyers facing the New York Rangers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TSN3 (Winnipeg), NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE JETS (31-15-2): Captain Blake Wheeler boosted his team-leading totals in assists (52) and points (61) by collecting eight and 11, respectively, over his last eight games before punctuating his All-Star experience by scoring once and setting up three others. While Wheeler scored in the first encounter with Philadelphia, Mark Scheifele (team co-leading 25 goals) notched three assists in the second period of that contest and enters Monday's tilt with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) this month. Patrik Laine, who also has 25 goals and set up a pair of tallies versus the Flyers, has been limited to just four points (two goals, two assists) in his last 15 games.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (19-23-6): James van Riemsdyk and Nolan Patrick have broken out of their respective sluggish starts to the season, with the former scoring six times in his last five games after providing little in the means of dividends since signing a five-year, $35 million contract. Patrick, who was the second overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, scored four goals and set up two others in his last three contests after mustering just five tallies and six assists in his previous 38. Jakub Voracek, who scored Philadelphia's lone goal versus Winnipeg, is riding a four-game assist streak.
OVERTIME
1. Philadelphia C Sean Couturier (team-leading 19 goals) has four goals and six assists during his six-game point streak.
2. The Jets' fourth-ranked power play converted on three of six opportunities in the previous encounter against the Flyers' 28th-ranked penalty kill.
3. Philadelphia captain F Claude Giroux, who leads the club in assists (38) and points (52), has scored one goal and set up five others in his last six games.