Pittsburgh Penguins hoping to recover as they take on Winnipeg Jets – NHL Preview
Winnipeg Jets are not very far away from being among the top eight teams, which will qualify for the playoffs from the National Hockey League (NHL) Eastern Conference. However, they have to make sure they continue winning the next games.
Hoping to get third victory in a row, Winnipeg is travelling to play Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, February 11, 2012, at CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Winnipeg is currently placed at 10th spot in the conference with 58 points after 56 games.
Its last two victories came against Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals.
Against Capitals, the first two periods went scoreless. Both the teams scored two goals each in the final period of the regulation to force the game to overtime.
After the goalless extra period, the game went to shootout where Jets scored twice while Capitals could only manage one goal.
Jets’ coach, Claude Noel, said after the victory:
"We haven't had a lot of luck lately. So, for us, we'll take that and we'll run with it."
Notwithstanding the recent victories, one just cannot get lucky every time.
Jets will have to rely more on team efforts against Penguins, who are so far in the safe zone and can reach the playoffs.
However, Jets can utilise Penguins’ flaws.
Pittsburgh has lost three of its last four games and is currently on a two-game losing streak after getting defeated by New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens.
Against Montreal, Pittsburgh went down early in the second period, but recovered from the deficit to end the regulation with tied score.
After the goalless overtime, the game was forced to a long session of shootout where Montreal eventually won.
Pittsburgh is placed at sixth spot in the Eastern Conference with 65 points after 54 games.
Penguins’ coach, Dan Bylsma, has clearly stated that he is not going to take on Jets lightly.
He said:
"I think we're talking about a team that is in a playoff mindset right now where you need to win to go on, not necessarily just this game. They need to win games to go on. That's what we think we're playing (Saturday) -- a team that's in playoff mode right now."
If the Jets build on the momentum they have gained after the recent victories, Pittsburgh might face a tough time on rink.
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