Jets at Devils
THE STORY: The New Jersey Devils have been uncharacteristically poor defensively lately, leading to a stretch of five losses in their last seven games. Only once during that span have the Devils held an opponent under three goals. Martin Brodeur continues to make his way back from a shoulder injury, leaving Johan Hedberg to handle the bulk of the goaltending duties. Brodeur, who allowed five goals on 23 shots in his return to the lineup on Wednesday, sat out again on Thursday but expects to be in net when New Jersey hosts the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. The Jets have similar problems defensively but can also go off occasionally on the other end. In its five victories, Winnipeg is averaging five goals. The Jets have shown flashes of turning it around lately, winning four of their last six and posting a shutout against the New York Islanders on Thursday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC (Winnipeg), MSG+2 (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE JETS (5-6-1): Maybe getting away from the pressure of its new fans was exactly what Winnipeg needed. The Jets are four contests into a seven-game road trip and have taken three of four so far, with the lone setback resulting in a 1-0 loss at Tampa Bay. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 34 shots Thursday in his first shutout after making 39 stops in a win at Florida on Monday.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (5-5-1): Known for its defensive pressure, New Jersey has been falling behind a bit in that area as of late. Thursday's game at Philadelphia was the first time in the recent stretch that New Jersey managed to overcome allowing at least three goals and emerge victorious. Most of the goals have been even strength, as the penalty kill unit is strong at over 90 percent.
OVERTIME:
1. Devils left wing Ilya Kovalchuk is questionable for Saturday with a leg injury.
2. Jets left wing Evander Kane has multiple points in three of the last four games.
3. New Jersey took three of four against the then-Atlanta Thrashers last season.