Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The second contest of a back-to-back set takes the Winnipeg Jets (2nd in Central Division) to Pittsburgh, where the local Penguins (5th in Metropolitan) remain with two straight victories in the pocket.
The Winnipeg Jets (27-14-1) embarked on their latest back-to-back set with a victory, triumphing for the sixth time in their past seven fixtures (6-1-0) following a 4-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center last night. Kyle Connor (21 goals, 52 points this year) broke a 2-2 tie seven minutes into the third period and added an assist on an empty-netter by Karson Kuhlman (2 goals, 6 points), thus extending his point streak to eight outings (6 goals, 8 assists). Dylan Samberg (2 goals, 8 points) and Josh Morrissey (8 goals, 47 points) also tallied for Winnipeg, which is 2-4-0 in its last six road contests.
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck (21-10-1 on the season with a 2.41 GAA and a .925 save percentage) made 39 saves yesterday, but is likely to vacate the crease for David Rittich ahead of tonight’s trip to Pittsburgh. Ritti ch, who has notched a 6-4-0 tally for the ongoing campaign with a 2.75 GAA and a .905 save percentage, has posted a 0-0-2 career tally in three previous appearances against the Penguins with a 3.45 GAA and a .892 save percentage. The Jets, meanwhile, are netting the 9th highest number of goals per game this year (3.36), while conceding the 5th lowest quantity defensively (2.67). They are 12th in power play (23.4%) and 5th in penalty kill (83.2%).