Jets at Hurricanes
THE STORY: The Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets have plenty in common. They share the same division, the same history of franchise upheaval and - most importantly at the moment - the same point total. Both teams are also coming off extra-time losses. The Hurricanes had a chance to match a season high with three straight wins but squandered two third-period leads en route to a 4-3 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. Defense has been a bit of an Achilles’ heel for Carolina for most of the season as Cam Ward has struggled to find his All-Star form. The Jets aren’t particularly strong on the blue line but they do have the offense to take advantage of other team’s holes. Winnipeg has totaled 18 goals in its last four games and beat Carolina 5-3 in the first meeting on Oct. 22.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN (Winnipeg), FSCR (Carolina)
ABOUT THE JETS (8-9-4): Winnipeg had its season-high three-game winning streak snapped with a 4-3 overtime loss at Washington on Wednesday. Four straight games with at least one point sets a new season mark and the surge can be attributed to an offense that has thrived on the power play. The Jets were shut out in two chances with the man advantage on Wednesday but went 6-for-15 on the power play in the previous three contests. Bryan Little has three goals in the last two games.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (8-11-4): The back-to-back wins on Sunday and Monday and a 1-0 loss in the previous contest marked the first time this season that Carolina had surrendered less than three goals in three straight games. The defensive issues reared their head again on Wednesday, however, as the Hurricanes yielded leads of 2-0 and 3-2. They also surrendered a shorthanded tally.
OVERTIME:
1. Carolina has taken six of the last eight meetings between the franchises.
2. After a slow start, Andrew Ladd has points in four straight games for Winnipeg.
3. Ward owns a 19-8-3 record in 31 career games against the Jets franchise.