Game Day Set-Up: Jets @ Hurricanes

When: Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Time: 6:00 p.m. CST

Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina

Records: Winnipeg Jets (27-25-5, 12th in the Western Conference), Carolina Hurricanes (25-20-9, 10th in the Eastern Conference)

Television/Radio: TSN-JETS, FS-CR/ TSN 1290 Radio

On the Horizon: Thursday, February 6th on the road against the Washington Capitals (6:00 p.m. CST).

Last Game: 2-1 road win over the Montreal Canadiens

Top Scorers:

Winnipeg Jets: Bryan Little (17 goals, 28 assists, 45 points), Blake Wheeler (22 goals, 23 assists, 45 points), Dustin Byfuglien (12 goals, 29 assists, 41 points), Andrew Ladd (12 goals, 27 assists, 39 points), Mark Scheifele (11 goals, 21 assists, 32 points)

Carolina Hurricanes: Eric Staal (14 goals, 30 assists, 44 points), Jeff Skinner (23 goals, 15 assists, 38 points), Andrej Sekera (8 goals, 23 assists, 31 points),  Alexander Semin (13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points), Nathan Gerbe (12 goals, 14 assists, 26 points)

Game Day Notes:

– The Hurricanes have not played since Friday night, a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. Carolina has won six of their last 10 games.

– Carolina averages 2.52 goals/game, 21st in the NHL. The Jets average 2.74 goals/game, 15th in the NHL. Carolina averages 2.74 goals against/game, 16th in the NHL. The Jets average 2.84 goals/against, 20th in the NHL.

– On Monday, the NHL named Hurricanes goaltender Anton Khudobin First Star of the Month for January. Khudobin played in all 14 games for the Hurricanes in January, posting a record of 10-4, with a goals against average of 2.19 and .927 save percentage. Khudobin allowed two or less goals in eight of his starts and did not allow more than three goals in any of his starts for the month.

-The Hurricanes average 8.0 penalty minutes/game which is less than any other team in the NHL.

– Who’s Hot: Carolina forward Eric Staal has four goals and five assists in his last eight games. Jets forward Blake Wheeler has six goals and six assists in his last 10 games.

– Who’s Cold: Jets forward Olli Jokinen has zero points in his last eight games.

– Tonight marks Paul Maurice‘s 11th game as Head Coach of the Jets. Winnipeg is 8-2 under Maurice so far.

Special Teams Breakdown:

– Carolina has the 27th Ranked Power Play in the NHL (14.3%) and the 27th Ranked Penalty Kill in the NHL (79.6%)

– Winnipeg has the 25th Ranked Power Play in the NHL (14.4%) and the 10th Ranked Penalty Kill in the NHL (83.1%)

Starting Goalies:

– Ondrej Pavelec (17-21-4, 2.99 GAA, .900 Save Percentage)

–  Anton Khudobin (12-4-0, 2.16 GAA, .927 Save Percentage)  

Projected Winnipeg Jets Line Combinations:

Andrew Ladd-Bryan Little-Michael Frolik
Chris Thorburn-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler
Devin Setoguchi-Olli Jokinen-Dustin Byfuglien
Eric Tangradi-James Wright-Anthony Peluso

Zach Bogosian – Tobias Enstrom
Mark Stuart – Jacob Trouba
Adam Pardy – Keaton Ellerby

Ondrej Pavelec
Al Montoya

Healthy Scratches: Zach Redmond, Eric O’Dell

Projected Carolina Hurricanes Line Combinations:

Jiri Tlusty- Eric Staal-Alexander Semin
Jeff Skinner- Jordan Staal- Elias Lindholm
Nathan Gerbe -Manny Malhotra- Pat Dwyer
Drayson Bowman –  Riley Nash – Tuomo Ruutu

Justin Faulk- Andrej Sekera
John-Michael Liles – Ron Hainsey
Mike Komisarek- Jay Harrison

Anton Khudobin
Justin Peters

Healthy Scratches:

Injury Report:

Carolina Hurricanes: Joni Pitkanen (heel)

Winnipeg Jets:  Matt Halischuk (forearm, Injured Reserve), Jim Slater (sports hernia surgery, indefinitely),  Grant Clitsome (back, out for season), Evander Kane (hand infection, Injured Reserve).