Jets head home with hope against Devils
Consistency is proving elusive at times for the Winnipeg Jets so far this season and they hope that spending the next week at home will prove beneficial.
The Jets attempt to match a season-best with a third straight win Tuesday night when they begin a four-game homestand by hosting the New Jersey Devils.
Winnipeg enters with an 8-7-0 record after getting consecutive one-goal wins on a back-to-back set in San Jose and Vegas over the weekend. The Jets scored three times combined in the third period of those games and completed the weekend sweep Saturday when Kyle Connor scored 3:22 into overtime to beat the Golden Knights.
"We came out in the third (period) knowing we had something to prove," said Connor, who had two assists in a game Winnipeg trailed 3-1 after 20 minutes. "I think it was an incredible comeback and a testament to our team, that kind of character."
The Jets scored 12 goals in a three-game winning streak from Oct. 8-12 when they beat Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Chicago but went 2-5-0 in their following seven games.
Patrik Laine returned Saturday and had an assist along with seven shots on goal after missing the previous two games with a lower-body injury. Laine leads the team with 11 assists but has not scored in eight straight games.
The Jets enter with six one-goal wins and have been held to three goals or fewer in nine games so far.
"Our teams the last couple years, it's come a little bit easier for us," Jets center Blake Wheeler told the Winnipeg Sun. "We roll out of bed and put a four or five on the scoreboard, you know what I mean? Now it's different. Now we've really got to fight for every inch of ice."
The Devils are making their second stop on a five-game road trip and are seeking consecutive wins for the second time this season. New Jersey also is 3-1-2 in its last six games after getting off to an 0-4-2 start.
The Devils began the trip with a 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night when defenseman P.K. Subban scored the tiebreaking goal four minutes into the third. It was Subban's 100th career goal, but a more significant one because of his slow start.
"I would have been happy to not have scored today and got the win, too," Subban said after scoring his second goal of the season. "I'm just happy I was able to make a difference in a positive way."
Rookie Jack Hughes scored a power-play goal and New Jersey's power play is improving in recent games. The Devils did not score a power-play goal in 18 chances during their first six games but are 7-for-29 since, with Hughes getting three of those of goals.
Saturday's win also occurred after the Devils blew third-period leads and settled for a point apiece in home losses to Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. After the loss to the Lightning, Taylor Hall said he felt the Devils were "kind of battling their own fans" due to constant booing at home games.
The Devils have lost five games when leading in the third period at some point. One of those was Oct. 4 when Winnipeg stormed back from a four-goal deficit claimed a 5-4 shootout victory to extend their winning streak over New Jersey to seven games.
--Field Level Media
