Jets at Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes look to cap their five-game homestand with a fourth consecutive victory when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday. Carolina began its string of contests at PNC Arena by dropping a 4-2 decision to Anaheim for its third straight overall defeat (0-2-1) but rebounded with triumphs over Washington, San Jose and league-leading Montreal, with the last two being determined by one goal.
Victor Rask and Jeff Skinner share the team scoring lead with 14 points apiece, with the former recording three goals and an assist over the first four games of the homestand. Carolina is hoping for a better performance than the one it put forth in its season-opening overtime loss in Winnipeg, where the host rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period and emerged with a 5-4 overtime victory. The Jets would settle for a repeat after beginning their season-high five-game road trip with setbacks at Philadelphia and Boston in which they allowed a total of nine goals while scoring only three. Adam Lowry netted his second tally in four games with 2:40 left in the third period of Saturday's loss to the Bruins to prevent a shutout while Mark Scheifele, who entered the game tied for the league lead with 22 points, was kept off the scoresheet for just the second time in nine contests.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), FSN Carolina
ABOUT THE JETS (9-9-2): Drew Stafford, who hasn't played since Oct. 25 due to an upper-body injury, participated in Saturday's morning skate and could return to the lineup against Carolina, although coach Paul Maurice would prefer he rejoin the lineup Wednesday at Minnesota. "The interesting thing for us, for Minnesota, is we'd be able to get him in a practice, which is what I'd like to do," Maurice told the team's website. "Get him out there with some chaos and a lot of bodies moving, get him as close to a game feel." Connor Hellebuyck will return to the crease Sunday after Michael Hutchinson made 34 saves in the loss to Boston.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (6-6-4): Skinner and Lee Stempniak each registered a goal and an assist in the first meeting with the Jets while Rask added a tally five minutes into the third to push Carolina's lead to 4-1 before the wheels came off. "We had a good 45 minutes, but we can't let that happen," Rask told the team's website on Saturday. "It's a new game tomorrow. ... We're a new team and we have three wins in a row right now. We feel pretty good about ourselves." Cam Ward, who has made five straight starts, is 4-1-2 with a 1.62 goals-against average and .941 save percentage this month.
OVERTIME
1. Skinner, who halted his five-game drought Friday against Montreal, is three goals away from having reached double digits in each of his seven NHL seasons.
2. Winnipeg entered Saturday with the fifth-highest total of shots (558) in the league but registered a season-low 12 against Boston.
3. Following Sunday's contest, Carolina faces a stretch during which it plays nine of 11 games on the road.