Jets at Canucks
After salvaging the finale of a three-game road trip, the Vancouver Canucks look to continue their home dominance when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. Ryan Kesler scored in the eighth round of the shootout on Friday as Vancouver overcame a two-goal deficit to post a 3-2 victory over Chicago and improve to 8-1-1 in its last 10 games. The Canucks are looking for their sixth consecutive victory in British Columbia, while Jets sparkplug Evander Kane will play in his fourth contest against his hometown team.
Winnipeg scored twice on the power play Friday to record its second win in three games, a 5-2 triumph over Florida. "Any time you score on the power play creates a lot of momentum for your team," Jets right wing Blake Wheeler said. "To get a couple, that's almost icing on the cake." That cake could crumble versus Vancouver, which has killed off 29-of-30 short-handed situations in December.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TSN (Winnipeg), RSN Pacific (Vancouver)
ABOUT THE JETS (16-16-5): Kane has scored and set up a goal in two of his last three games but has been limited to just one assist against the Canucks. Mark Scheifele set up a pair of tallies versus Florida to extend his point streak to five games. The seventh overall pick of the 2011 draft, Scheifele has recorded three goals and four assists in the stretch heading into his first career meeting with Vancouver.
ABOUT THE CANUCKS (21-11-6): Roberto Luongo served as a spectator against the Blackhawks but likely will return to action versus the Jets. The veteran netminder has won five straight starts against the Winnipeg/Atlanta franchise to even his all-time mark at 11-11-1 with one tie. Daniel Sedin has been sizzling over the last 15 games, scoring his fifth goal on Friday to go along with 11 assists in that stretch.
OVERTIME
1. Vancouver D Kevin Bieksa will play in his 500th NHL game on Sunday.
2. Winnipeg G Ondrej Pavelec posted his first win in six starts on Friday but has yielded seven goals on 83 shots to lose both career decisions against the Canucks.
3. Jets RW Michael Frolik, who had a goal and assist versus Florida, has recorded five points in his last five games.