Anaheim @ Winnipeg preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 29, 2019 ) Winnipeg 3, Anaheim 0

Not every game is going to end with a victory, and even though the Winnipeg Jets left Dallas with an overtime loss Thursday, their late rally to earn a point provides a boost entering Sunday’s home contest with the Anaheim Ducks. Winnipeg rallied from a 2-0 deficit against their division rival to tie the game on center Mark Scheifele’s goal with 45 seconds remaining in regulation before falling 3-2 in overtime, but earned a point for the eighth time in their past 10 games.

“Good road point, good battle back,” Jets coach Paul Maurice told reporters postgame, after the Jets improved to 11-3-2 since Nov. 1. “You want to win every night in this league, but you’re not going to go out on the road and dominate every night.” Anaheim has dropped six of its past eight games following Friday’s 3-2 home loss to Washington, but like the Jets also pulled positives out of its most recent defeat. Center Adam Henrique tied the contest early in the third period and came close to tying the game in the final minute. “Despite some hiccups throughout the game, I thought we played really hard,” Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf told the media afterward. “We had lots of opportunities.”

TV: 3 p.m. ET, FS West (Anaheim), TSN3 (Winnipeg)

ABOUT THE DUCKS (12-13-4): Getzlaf scored his 10th goal of the season against Washington (tied for the team lead with forward Jakob Silfverberg) and tops the Ducks with 13 assists and 23 points, and has 11 points (eight assists) in his past nine games. Goaltender Ryan Miller made 33 saves in Friday’s loss, while John Gibson is 1-2-2 in his past five games with an .886 save percentage. Anaheim is 30th in the NHL on the power play (10.8 percent) through Friday and is 1-for-14 with the man advantage in its past six games.

ABOUT THE JETS (17-10-2): Forward Patrik Laine assisted on Scheifele’s game-tying goal, giving him 20 on the season - matching his total from all of last season - and eight points (six assists) in his past five games. Despite Thursday’s loss, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck continued his outstanding play of late with 36 saves, and is 9-2-2 with a .944 save percentage in his past 13 games. The Jets are allowing 33.2 shots per game, the third-highest total in the league entering Saturday.

OVERTIME

1. The Ducks were outshot by Washington 36-29, falling to 12-4-1 this season when getting outshot by their opponent.

2. Jets F Nikolaj Ehlers registered an assist Thursday to give him five points (two goals) in his past four games.

3. The teams have split their first two meetings this season, the Jets winning 3-0 in Anaheim on Nov. 29 and the Ducks claiming a 7-4 home triumph on Oct. 29.

PREDICTION: Jets 3, Ducks 2