Game Day Set-Up: Jets @ Penguins

When: Sunday, January 5th, 2014

Time: 12:00 p.m. CST

Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Records: Winnipeg Jets (19-20-5, 11th in the Western Conference), Pittsburgh Penguins (30-12-1, 1st in the Eastern Conference)

Television/Radio: TSN-JETS, ROOT/ TSN 1290 Radio

On the Horizon: Tuesday, January 7th at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning (7:00 p.m. CST).

Last Game: 4-1 road loss to the Boston Bruins

Top Scorers:

Winnipeg Jets: Bryan Little (14 goals, 19 assists, 33 points), Dustin Byfuglien (9 goals, 23 assists, 32 points), Blake Wheeler (15 goals, 16 assists, 31 points), Andrew Ladd (10 goals, 19 assists, 29 points), Olli Jokinen (10 goals, 16 assists, 26 points)

Pittsburgh Penguins: Sidney Crosby (23 goals, 39 assists, 62 points), Chris Kunitz (23 goals, 23 assists, 46 points), Evgeni Malkin (9 goals, 32 assists, 41 points),  James Neal (14 goals, 17 assists, 31 points), Jussi Jokinen (11 goals, 17 assists, 28 points)

Game Day Notes:

– The Penguins won their last game 5-2 over the New York Rangers on Friday and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games

– The Penguins average 3.09 goals/game, 5th in the NHL. By comparison, the Jets average 2.57 goals/game, 17th in the NHL.

– Penguins forward James Neal has four goals and five assists in his last five games.

– Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin will play today for Pittsburgh. Makin has not played since December 14th with a leg injury. Malkin has nine goals and 32 assists in 31 games this year.

– Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will also return to the line-up today. He has not played since December 13 due to an elbow injury. Letang has six goals and five assists in 24 games this year.

– The Penguins have won 11 straight games at home

–  Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has three goals and two assists in his last five games

Special Teams Breakdown:

– Pittsburgh has the #1 Ranked Power Play in the NHL (25.9%) and the #2 Ranked Penalty Kill in the NHL (88.4%)

– Winnipeg has the 25th Ranked Power Play in the NHL (14.3%) and the 11th Ranked Penalty Kill in the NHL (83.2%)

Starting Goalies:

– Al Montoya (8-3-1, 2.02 GAA, .929 Save Percentage)

–  Marc-Andre Fleury (23-10-1, 2.15 GAA, .921 Save Percentage)  

Projected Winnipeg Jets Line Combinations:

Andrew Ladd-Bryan Little-Blake Wheeler
Evander Kane-Mark Scheifele-Michael Frolik
Chris Thorburn-Olli Jokinen-Devin Setoguchi
Eric Tangradi-Eric O’Dell- James Wright

Tobias Enstrom- Jacob Trouba
Adam Pardy- Dustin Byfuglien
Mark Stuart- Zach Bogosian

Al Montoya
Ondrej Pavelec

Healthy Scratches: Anthony Peluso, Keaton Ellerby

Projected Pittsburgh Penguins Line Combinations:

Chris Kunitz- Sidney Crosby- Brian Gibbons
Jussi Jokinen-Evgeni Malkin-James Neal
Taylor Pyatt-Brandon Sutter-Joe Vitale
Tanner Glass-Zach Sill-Craig Adams

Rob Scuderi-Kris Letang
Deryk Engelland- Brooks Orpik
Olli Maatta- Matt Niskanen

Marc-Andre Fleury
Jeff Zatkoff

Healthy Scratches: Simon Despres, Robert Bortuzzo

Injury Report:

Pittsburgh Penguins: Chuck Kobasew (unspecified injury, day-to-day), Chris Conner (hand), Pascal Dupuis (knee), Paul Martin (leg), Andrew Ebbett (ankle)

Winnipeg Jets:  Matt Halischuk (forearm, Injured Reserve), Paul Postma (leg, indefinitely), Jim Slater (sports hernia surgery, indefinitely),  Grant Clitsome (back, Injured Reserve)