Penguins at Jets
The Pittsburgh Penguins embark on their final road trip of the regular season with a visit to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. The Jets are playing their first home game since March 22 and have just one regulation victory in Manitoba since January (3-4-2). The Penguins will clinch the Metropolitan Division if they earn a point against the Jets or if Keystone State-rival Philadelphia fails to win out.
Pittsburgh won 6-5 at home against Winnipeg on Jan. 5 and is 6-2-0 against the franchise since it moved from Atlanta. The Jets defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday but have not posted consecutive wins in a month. Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to make his fourth straight start for Pittsburgh, while the Jets will likely give the nod to starter Ondrej Pavelec.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT, TSN Jets
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (48-23-5): Injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Marcel Goc have left Pittsburgh thin down the middle, putting more pressure on Sidney Crosby. The captain responded by reaching 100 points for the fifth time in his career and he enters Thursday on a five-game point streak (two goals, four assists). Lee Stempniak is enjoying his time on Crosby’s wing, with points in each of his last two games since being moved onto the top line.
ABOUT THE JETS (34-33-10): Pavelec is likely to see every start until Al Montoya recovers from a lower-body injury that kept him out of Tuesday’s lineup. Defenseman Keaton Ellerby has missed two games with a lower-body injury, joining Zach Bogosian among the ailing Winnipeg blue-liners. Devin Setoguchi returned to the lineup on Tuesday after being a healthy scratch for three games and is expected to play again Thursday.
OVERTIME
1. Crosby is the eighth player in NHL history to record five 100-point seasons prior to his 27th birthday.
2. The Jets are 5-for-15 on the power play over their last five contests.
3. Crosby has 45 points in 26 career games against the Jets/Thrashers franchise.