NHL: 3 things to know for Friday night
There are missing ingredients for the two Canadian teams playing Friday in the NHL. The Montreal Canadiens need offence, while the Winnipeg Jets are very thin on defence.
Here are 3 things to know for tonight's games:
Canadiens seeking to revive attack
It took the Canadiens more than 59 minutes to find a goal on Wednesday in a 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, the team's first game since the death of Montreal patriarch Jean Béliveau.
Despite the Habs' 17-8-2 record they've been struggling to score lately, dropping four of their last five starts as they skate against the high-powered Blackhawks (16-8-1) in Chicago Friday.
For the season the Canadiens have scored only two more goals than they've allowed. Several players have hit dry spells, and goaltender Carey Price no doubt is still smarting from a 5-0 thrashing the Blackhawks put on the Canadiens in Montreal on Nov. 4.
Chicago has won 9 of their last 11, including four in a row.
Patrick Kane, who scored twice Wednesday in a 4-1 win over St. Louis, has fired in eight goals and 15 points in 8 games, while linemate Kris Versteeg has netted 14 points over the same stretch.
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Chicago's found the scoring range in their last eight games, nearly doubling their goals-per-game average
Battered D makes Jets scramble
And another one bites the dust. That's the story for the Winnipeg Jets (13-9-4), who lost blueliner Zach Bogosian to a lower-body injury in Wednesday's 3-2 win over Edmonton.
Bogosian is expected to be out at least a month and joins sidelined D-men Toby Engstrom, who won't be back until January, and Grant Clitsome, who is ruled out for two weeks.
Dustin Byfuglien, who had the third-period game-tying goal and an assist against the Oilers, will shift back to the blue-line to bolster the Jets.
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Winnipeg welcomes in the Colorado Avalanche (9-11-6), who dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Calgary Thursday night.
Semyon Varlamov was back in goal for the Avalanche after missing six games with a groin injury. He's 1-2-1 with a 2.66 goals-against-average in his last four starts in Winnipeg.
Visiting Ducks enter Wild environment
The Anaheim Ducks (16-6-5) won a pair of one-goal home games, including a 5-4 shootout over the Philadelphia Flyers, before heading out on the road again, where they've produced a solid 7-3-2 mark.
Trailing 3-1 to Philly, Ryan Getzlaf started the Ducks comeback as four different goal-scorers fuelled the attack before Corey Perry notched the shootout winner against the Flyers. The Ducks also have a nice run of four one-goal wins over the Minnesota Wild (14-9-1), their Friday opponent.
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The Wild have been formidable at home, 8-2-1, and have outshot the opposition in 21 of 24 games.
Jason Pominville, who scored the second goal in the 2-1 win over the Canadiens Wednesday, has 12 points in 12 games against the Ducks.
Ryan Suter is out of the Wild line-up as he became the fifth member of the team to miss time due to the mumps, an affliction that's plagued several NHL teams.
