Preview: Jets vs. Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes bring a six-game point streak (5-0-1) into a back-to-back set against Western Conference opponents, beginning Friday with the Winnipeg Jets.
The Canes' five-game winning streak was snapped in Boston on Tuesday, but the team earned a point in the 4-3 overtime loss.

A Battle
The Hurricanes jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Bruins in Boston on Tuesday. But, despite four power plays, they couldn't stretch their lead to three.
Instead, the Bruins, who had earned points in 16 straight games, roared back to tie the game, and on the Canes' fifth power play, Boston connected on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush to take a third-period lead.
Justin Williams tied the game in the back half of the third period to force extra hockey, during which David Krejci netted the game-winner.
"It was good. It was intense. It was exactly what we needed," Williams said. "On the negative side, we've had a bunch of two-goal leads lately and haven't sustained them. Obviously, we were playing a really good team tonight. They're not going to go away. We need to find a way to play better with the lead. Instead of two, make it three."
"Two good teams playing each other," said Sebastian Aho, who netted two goals to stretch his goal streak to four games and point streak to six games. "It was intense."
PROJECTED LINEUP
The Canes will now face three straight Western Conference opponents before finishing the season with 12 of 13 games within the East.
Ferland a Question Mark
After fighting with David Backes on Tuesday, Micheal Ferland left the game and did not return with what has been a nagging upper-body injury.
Ferland did not practice with the Canes on Thursday but skated after the team wrapped up.
"He's a little banged up. We didn't really need to aggravate anything today," head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "We'll reevaluate that tomorrow."
The Last Meeting
The Hurricanes suffered their first regulation loss of the season at the hands of the Jets way back on Oct. 14. The Canes had opened the 2018-19 campaign 4-0-1 and were riding a four-game winning streak heading into their sixth game of the season. Goaltenders Petr Mrazek and Laurent Brossoit battled it out through a scoreless 40 minutes. A power-play goal from Patrik Laine got the Jets on the board first, and Ferland tied the game just over three minutes later. With just 2:09 remaining in regulation, Bryan Little netting the game-winning goal, and the Jets added an empty-netter to seal their 3-1 win.
"That game was a pretty even game," Brind'Amour said. "That's one of those ones we look back and should have got something out of it, in my opinion. Good to know that we know we can play with them if we bring our game."
The Opposition
The Jets are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, but at 39-23-4 (82 points) through 66 games, the team sits just a point out of first place in the Central Division. The Jets, who are 17-15-0 away from home, began a busy month of March that sees the team play 15 games in a 30-day span with a pair of wins before being upended by the NHL's best team, 5-2, in Tampa on Tuesday.
"They've got a pretty potent offense," Brind'Amour said. "You just look at them from top to bottom. They've got some of the elite players of the game. When they're firing on all cylinders, that's trouble for everybody."
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Rested Legs
The Hurricanes and Jets both haven't played since Tuesday, and the Hurricanes will play three games against Western Conference opponents over the next four days, starting with this back-to-back set against Winnipeg and Nashville. The Canes need to use their rested legs to their advantage and come out buzzing from puck drop.
2. Traffic in Front
As was the case in October, the Canes will again face Laurent Brossoit in net, and he made 42 saves on 43 shots in that first meeting. Traffic in front to take away his vision and capitalize on second and third opportunities will be key to the Canes' offense.
3. Power Play Plus
The Hurricanes were 0-for-5 on the power play and allowed a shorthanded goal in Boston on Tuesday. Tonight, the PP can't be on the negative side - at the very least, it has to generate momentum for the Canes.
AT THE RINK
It's
Teacher Appreciation Night
at PNC Arena, as the Canes honor teachers for the work they do in developing the future leaders of our community and country.
The Book Drive ends tonight. Bring one new or gently used book for children ages newborn to middle school, and you'll be
entered to win an in-game experience or autographed prize
.
There's one last College Colors spotlight for the season: Wake Forest. There's still time to score
a discounted ticket and a co-branded beanie
.
WORTH A CLICK
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