Panthers at Jets
THE STORY: The Winnipeg Jets haven’t had as much luck in January after a very strong December. The Jets, however, have started to break out of their funk a bit with victories in two of their last three. Winnipeg hopes to keep the good times going on Saturday when the Florida Panthers pay a visit. The Jets received an outstanding performance from goalie Ondrej Pavelec and two power-play goals to post a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. The Panthers have lost eight straight road games after dropping a 3-1 decision at Chicago Friday. The loss put them at 1-3-3 in January. The good news for Florida is forwards Jack Skille, Sean Bergenheim and Scottie Upshall returned to the lineup on Friday after being sidelined with injuries. The teams have split two meetings this season.
TV: 7 p.m. ET; CBC.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (21-15-10): Florida’s top scorers have gone cold. Kris Versteeg, who leads the team with 39 points, has none in the last four games. Stephen Weiss broke a 15-game goal drought against Colorado Wednesday. Tomas Fleishmann has no points in his last seven games and is minus-8. That’s a big reason Florida has scored just 13 goals in its last seven games. Jason Garrison has two goals in his last three games and 13 overall, which leads all NHL defensemen. Jose Thoedore has allowed seven goals in two games since his return from injury.
ABOUT THE JETS (22-20-5): Blake Wheeler returned to the lineup Thursday after missing two games with a throat injury and recorded an assist. Wheeler, who did not have a goal the first 18 games of the season, leads the Jets with 33 points. Six of his nine goals have come on the power play. The Jets have to get Evander Kane going. He has gone six games without a point and has not scored a goal since Dec. 29. Kyle Wellwood had two assists Thursday to reach 200 career points. Defenseman Zach Bogosian may return from a lower-body injury.
OVERTIME
1. Pavelec has a .906 save percentage in January after finishing at .939 in December.
2. Florida is 7-1-2 against Canadian teams this season.
3. Winnipeg’s leading scorer on defense Dustin Byfuglien (knee) is questionable.