Avalanche at Jets
The Winnipeg Jets look to extend their point streak to five games when they host the Colorado Avalanche on Friday. Winnipeg went 2-0-1 on its three-game road trip before rallying for a 3-2 overtime victory over Edmonton on Wednesday in the opener of a three-game homestand. Dustin Byfuglien forged a tie with 3:06 remaining in the third period and Mathieu Perreault tallied 17 seconds into the extra session as the Jets halted a two-game skid at MTS Centre.
While Winnipeg erased a late deficit and pulled out a win in its last contest, Colorado squandered a late lead and dropped a 4-3 overtime decision at Calgary on Thursday. After watching a 2-1 lead disappear early in the third period, the Avalanche moved ahead on a brilliant play by Alex Tanguay before allowing the tying goal with 77 seconds left in the session and the winner 1:47 into the extra session. The Jets captured the opener of their five-game season series against Colorado, as Bryan Little scored at 4:35 of overtime for a 2-1 home triumph on Oct. 26.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Colorado), TSN3 (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (9-11-6): Semyon Varlamov returned from a six-game absence due to a groin injury and made 21 saves in Thursday's defeat. The 26-year-old Russian stopped all seven shots he faced in the first period but allowed four goals on 18 shots the rest of the way. Michael Sgarbossa, who failed to get on the scoresheet during a six-game stint last season, registered his first career point in his eighth NHL game Thursday with an assist on defenseman Nick Holden's goal.
ABOUT THE JETS (13-9-4): Winnipeg's blue line took a major hit Thursday as the club learned it would be without Zach Bogosian for four to six weeks with a foot injury. The 24-year-old was hit with a shot in Wednesday's overtime win over Edmonton but finished the game. The Jets also discovered already-injured defensemen Tobias Enstrom and Grant Clitsome would be sidelined the remainder of the month and at least two more weeks, respectively, with upper-body ailments - forcing Byfuglien to return to the blue line from forward for the time being.
OVERTIME
1. The Avalanche are 1-4 in overtime this season and 2-2 in shootouts, while the Jets are 2-2 in both formats.
2. To help the wounded defense corps, Winnipeg recalled D Julien Brouillette from St. John's of the American Hockey League.
3. Jets D Jacob Trouba has collected six points in his last four games.