Capitals at Jets
THE STORY: Something about the Winnipeg Jets franchise has brought out the worst in the Washington Capitals in recent history. The Jets hope that trend continues Thursday as they welcome the Capitals to the MTS Centre. Winnipeg has won the last three meetings in the head-to-head series, with all three games coming while the franchise was still based in Atlanta. The Jets outscored Washington 9-1 in those games, and a similar result would give the Jets some much-needed momentum heading into a difficult contest against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. The Capitals are looking to avoid their first three-game losing skid of the season, and have just one victory in their last five games. Thursday marks Washington's first visit to Manitoba since 1995.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet Washington, TSN
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (10-5-1): Lost in the attention surrounding Alex Ovechkin's slow start to the season is the success of his center. Nicklas Backstrom struggled with injury and inconsistency a season ago but has returned to form this year, ranked among the league leaders with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 16 games entering Thursday's action. The slick playmaker, who turns 24 next week, has eight goals and 16 assists in 26 career games against the Winnipeg franchise.
ABOUT THE JETS (6-9-3): Winnipeg opened a tough three-game homestand on a winning note, cruising past the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-2 on Monday night. That ended an ugly three-game losing skid that threatened to drop the team to the bottom of the Southeast Division standings. Special teams continue to be a concern; while the club finds itself in the middle of the pack in power-play efficiency, it remains in the bottom third of the league on the penalty kill, a shade below 80 percent.
OVERTIME:
1. Ovechkin has just seven goals so far this season, but has feasted on the division-rival Jets in his career. The veteran sniper has 30 goals and 33 assists in 42 games against Winnipeg.
2. Ondrej Pavelec will get the start in goal for Winnipeg. He's just 4-8-0 for his career against Washington, but was 3-1-0 with a 0.55 goals-against average and two shutouts last season.