Boston Bruins face off against Winnipeg Jets - NHL Preview
Boston Bruins will look to maintain the pressure on Eastern Conference table toppers New York Rangers with a road win over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, February 17th, 2012 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg.
The Bruins are second in the Eastern Conference with 72 points, trailing the Rangers by seven points.
Boston has remained inconsistent this month winning three of their previous seven games and will be looking to change that statistic against Winnipeg.
The defending Stanley Cup Champions are on a six game road trip which they started off with a close 4-3 shootout win over Montreal Canadiens.
Winnipeg on the other hand are still struggling to break into the playoff spots as inconsistent results in February have kept them just shy of eight spot.
The Jets are tenth in the Eastern Conference with 60 points trailing eighth placed Toronto Maple Leafs by four points but will be looking to close that gap as they start an eight game home stretch which begins with Friday’s visit of Boston Bruins.
Winnipeg, have won four and lost four of their eight games played this month.
Bruins (35-18-2, 72 pts)
The Boston Bruins have lost some of their swagger in 2012 that had propelled them to second spot in the Eastern Conference after a shocking start to the season.
The defending Stanley Cup Champions though have churned out results to continue their challenge for the pole position. Boston is seven points above third placed Florida Panthers and will be looking to increase that gap with a win over the Jets.
The Bruins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout after letting go of a 3-1 lead in the third period.
Centre Patrice Bergeron was happy that his team found a way to come back into the game but said that they cannot allow two goal leads to slip by so easily.
"I don't know if we got caught off guard. We've got to be better. We know they're a team that never stops battling, and they showed that again. We found a way but we're not happy with our last period."
Jets (27-26-6, 60 pts)
Winnipeg ended a poor run of form on Thursday as they beat Minnesota Wild 4-3 after a shootout. The Jets had lost two straight games before the win over Minnesota by big margins.
Winnipeg had to come back from a goal down to equalise the game twice on Thursday and showed their mental strength to remain calm under adversity.
The win helped the Jets close the game between them and eighth placed Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jets coach Claude Noel was impressed by his team’s display and praised the players.
"I thought it was a really good test of character for us. I thought the guys were in it to win it."
Predictions
Both the Bruins and Jets won their respective games after a shootout but the extra day available for Boston to rest up will be crucial.
The Bruins will look to take advantage of a Jets side that will be tired after their exertions on Thursday and will most probably run out the winners.
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