(SportsNetwork.com) – The Winnipeg Jets have been winning games without much
offense and the low-scoring club will shoot for a third straight victory when
they host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
The Jets recorded a pair of 1-0 road victories over the weekend, beating the
New York Rangers in a shootout on Saturday before downing Chicago in
regulation the following night.
Winnipeg was credited with just nine goals during its current 4-0-1 point
streak and the club is averaging only 1.75 goals per game this season.
The Jets’ scored the only goal of Sunday’s game just 20 seconds into the
contest, with Michael Frolik putting in the rebound from a Zach Bogosian shot.
Michael Hutchinson made the early lead stand up, stopping 33 shots to earn his
first career shutout in his sixth NHL game.
“He was awesome tonight,” Frolik said of Hutchinson.
After going 3-0-1 on its recent road trip, Winnipeg hopes to carry some
momentum back home to the MTS Centre, where Paul Maurice’s club is 2-3-0 this
season.
The Predators, meanwhile, have won two of three games to begin a six-game road
trip and are coming off Sunday’s 3-1 triumph in Vancouver.
Filip Forsberg scored twice and to help Nashville down the Canucks at Rogers
Arena and the 20-year-old now has 11 points on three goals and eight assists
this season.
Colin Wilson posted the other tally for the Predators, who have won four of
their last six games. Pekka Rinne made 26 saves to improve his record this
season to 7-2-1.
Rinne is expected to start tonight and he boasts a 5-0 record and a 2.39 goals
against average in his career versus Winnipeg. Ondrej Pavelec expects to get
the call in net for the Jets. He is 3-4-1 with a 2.19 GAA in his career
against Nashville.
The Preds posted a 2-0 victory in Winnipeg on Oct. 17, when Rinne turned aside
31 shots for his lone shutout of the season. Nashville has won six of the last
eight meetings in this series overall and has claimed three of the last four
in Winnipeg.
