Hurricanes at Jets
It’s been a strong road trip to Canada so far for the Carolina Hurricanes, who finish four straight games outside the United States on Tuesday at the Winnipeg Jets. The Hurricanes are 2-0-1 through three games at Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary - the latest an impressive 4-0 shutout of the Flames on Saturday as goalie James Reimer stopped all 32 shots and forward Warren Foegele netted two short-handed goals as Carolina improved to 11-4-1 in its past 16 games.
But the Hurricanes will want a better start Tuesday after Reimer kept the game scoreless in the first 20 minutes, a period that coach Rod Brind’Amour described to the media postgame as terrible, adding: “It was probably our worst period in two years. We just weren’t ready to go.” The red-hot Jets jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Philadelphia on Sunday, then scored four goals in a 4:17 span of the second period en route to a 7-3 home triumph. Center Mark Scheifele and forward Blake Wheeler each finished with one goal and two assists, and seven different Jets scored as Winnipeg improved to 7-1-1 in its past nine home games. “You get a five-minute power play and you want to take advantage of it,” Wheeler told reporters in referring to a major penalty that knocked Jets forward Mathieu Perreault out of the game, leading to the first two goals of the second-period outburst.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Carolinas, TSN3 (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (20-11-2): Foegele became the fifth player in franchise history to score two short-handed goals in the same game, while defenseman Dougie Hamilton recorded his 12th goal - tied for tops among NHL blueliners through Sunday - to give him three points on the road trip. While top goaltender Petr Mrazek is 2-0-1 with a .938 save percentage in his past three games, Reimer is 5-1-0 with a .948 save percentage in his past six outings (all on the road). Carolina has been outstanding of late on special teams, limiting opponents to 2-for-33 on the power play in its past eight games while going 6-for-15 with the man advantage in the past four contests.
ABOUT THE JETS (20-11-2): Scheifele extended his point streak to six games, recording six goals and five assists in that span, and since Nov. 1 has 22 points (11 goals) in 20 outings with at least one point in 15 contests. Wheeler has registered points in eight of his past 10 games, recording four goals and 10 assists in that span, while forward Kyle Connor recorded a goal and an assist Sunday to give him 10 points (four goals) in his past six contests. The Jets are averaging 3.7 goals across their past 10 games and are 5-for-15 on the power play in their past four games - three of those goals with the man advantage coming Sunday.
OVERTIME
1. Perreault did not practice Monday and has been put into concussion protocol, Jets coach Paul Maurice told reporters.
2. Hurricanes F Jordan Martinook has six points in 18 games this season, three coming in his past three games (including two assists Saturday).
3. Jets G Connor Hellebuyck began the week tied for the league lead in wins (16) and is 11-3-2 with a .935 save percentage in his past 17 games.