Jets at Penguins
THE STORY: Two teams coming off bitter defeats Sunday will square off Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Winnipeg Jets. The Penguins had their 11-game winning streak snapped by Philadelphia on a goal with nine-tenths of a second left in overtime. The Jets surrendered two goals in the final 10 minutes in a 4-3 home loss to Carolina that cost them a chance to move into a tie for the final playoff slot in the Eastern Conference.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN, ROOT
ABOUT THE JETS (34-30-8): Winnipeg suffered a double-whammy when Nik Antropov left Sunday's game with a lower-body injury. Antropov scored for the third time in as many games Sunday, giving him five tallies in his last eight. He also has 31 points in 35 career games against the Penguins. The Jets did get production from a most unlikely source when Antti Miettinen scored his first two goals of the season, ending a 34-game drought. Winnipeg faces an uphill climb with seven of its last 10 games on the road.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (44-21-6): Pittsburgh squandered a chance to move into a tie with the New York Rangers atop the Atlantic Division after blowing a two-goal, third-period lead. All-Star Evgeni Malkin scored in his third consecutive game to extend his points streak to four games and give him a league-leading 88 points. Captain Sidney Crosby was held off the scoresheet in his third game back after amassing five assists in his first two contests. The Penguins are seeking their eighth consecutive victory at home.
OVERTIME:
1. The Penguins have beaten the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise 10 straight times in Pittsburgh – their second-longest streak against any opponent (New York Islanders, 13).
2. Jets LW Evander Kane is riding a five-game points streak and has nine goals and 10 assists in his last 14 contests.
3. “This one will stick in there for a long time. The bottom line with this game is that if we don’t make the playoffs, we don’t deserve to make the playoffs." – Jets coach Claude Noel after Sunday's loss.