Jets at Devils
The Winnipeg Jets attempt to spoil a second home opener in as many nights when they visit the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Winnipeg began its 2015-16 campaign Thursday with a 6-2 triumph that ended the franchise's 0-10-3 slide at Boston as Drew Stafford and Alexander Burmistrov led the way with a goal and an assist apiece.
The Jets have had success in New Jersey of late, going 2-0-2 in their last four visits. The Devils begin a new era as they hope to end a string of three straight seasons without a playoff appearance. New Jersey, which hasn't qualified for the postseason since losing to Los Angeles in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, has a new general manager in Ray Shero and coach in John Hynes as it kicks off its first campaign without Lou Lamiorello running the ship since 1986-87. Shero did not make any earth-shattering moves during his first summer at the helm but added several useful parts in Jiri Tlusty, Lee Stempniak, Kyle Palmieri and defensemen John Moore and David Schlemko.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), MSG-Plus 2 (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE JETS (1-0-0): Nicolas Petan had a nice NHL debut Thursday, scoring a third-period goal that gave Winnipeg a 5-2 lead. The 20-year-old center from British Columbia was selected in the second round of the 2013 draft. Burmistrov's return to Winnipeg after spending two seasons in his native Russia was a successful one, as he finished the victory over the Bruins with a plus-4 rating in addition to his two points.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (2014-15: 32-36-14, 7TH IN METROPOLITAN): Palmieri figures to be Shero's most important acquisition, as he is expected to improve upon his career high-tying 14 goals with Anaheim last season and help a club that ranked 28th in tallies in 2014-15. A wild-card addition is forward Brian O'Neill, who was obtained from Los Angeles on Monday for a conditional seventh-round draft pick and will begin the campaign on the team's roster. The 27-year-old Yale product has yet to make his NHL debut.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg C Andrew Copp set up Petan's goal Thursday, giving him an assist in each of his two NHL games.
2. New Jersey C Patrik Elias (knee) will begin the season on the non-roster injury list.
3. The Jets and Devils split their two-game series last season, with each team winning at home.