Jets at Capitals
THE STORY:
The Washington Capitals travel to Winnipeg for the final meeting with
the division-rival Jets on Friday. The Jets lead the season series 3-1-1
and are looking to win their third straight over the Capitals.
Washington holds a five-point lead over Winnipeg for the eighth and
final playoff spot in the East, but the Jets have a game in hand. The
Capitals are playing the second game of a back-to-back after falling 2-1
to Philadelphia in a shootout Thursday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN Jets, CS Washington (Wizards)
ABOUT THE JETS (34-31-8):
Worrisome for Winnipeg is the team’s troubles on the road. The Jets are
11-20-4 away from home and have dropped their past three road contests.
Winnipeg has nine games left, six of those away from MTS Centre.
Defenseman Eric Fehr is dealing with an upper-body injury and center Nik
Antropov is suffering from a lower-body injury. Both are considered
questionable for Friday’s contest. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec is 3-1-1
with a 1.97 goals against average and .935 save percentage against the
Capitals this season.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (37-30-7): The
Capitals begin a three-game homestand after going 2-2-1 on a five-game
east coast trip. Washington is clinging to a one-point lead over the
Buffalo Sabres for the final playoff spot in the East and trails the
Florida Panthers by four points for the Southeast Division lead. Forward
Alex Ovechkin has goals in three straight games and six in his last
five contests. Goaltender Tomas Vokoun (lower body) and forward
Alexander Semin (undisclosed) are both questionable versus the Jets.
OVERTIME:
1. Jets captain Andrew Ladd has three goals and two assists in five games versus Washington this season.
2. Winnipeg is 5-11 in its last 16 Friday games.
3.
Jets defenseman Mark Stuart was fined $2,500 for a fierce hit on
Capitals forward Marcus Johansson in the last meeting March 16. “We
definitely don’t like them,” Capitals forward Brooks Laich said after
the physical contest. “We’ve got them again. We’ve got them again in a
week and hockey players have long memories.”