Jets at Wild
THE STORY: The Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild were flying high in December, but both teams have fallen on hard times. They'll do battle Thursday night in Minnesota with two very valuable points at stake. Winnipeg has just 10 victories in 31 road games this season, and is coming off consecutive losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders that dropped the club further out of the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Wild once led the West, but those days are now distant memories for a Minnesota club that has scored just six times during a five-game losing skid.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TSN, Fox Sports Northeast
ABOUT THE JETS (26-26-6): Winnipeg wanted to tone things down following a wild 8-5 loss to the Penguins on Saturday night, and the club largely achieved its goal. The only sticking point: failing to solve Islanders netminder Evgeni Nabokov, who posted a sensational 37-save performance in a 3-1 New York victory. Winnipeg allowed a goal on its only shorthanded situation of the night and has now surrendered five power-play tallies in opponents' last nine opportunities.
ABOUT THE WILD (25-23-8): Rumors persist that Marek Zidlicky is on the move, but Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher says nothing is imminent and that he hasn't asked the defenseman to waive his no-trade clause. Zidlicky reportedly requested a trade late last month after being a healthy scratch three times in a four-game span. Reports have linked the veteran blue-liner with the New Jersey Devils, but Fletcher says such stories are "very premature."
OVERTIME:
1. Winnipeg has prevailed in each of the last three meetings, outscoring Minnesota 10-4 in that span.
2. Minnesota ranks near the bottom of the NHL with just 65 goals in 26 home games.
3. Winnipeg has 14 goals in eight games since the All-Star break; the Wild have scored 11 times in eight games over that same span.