Winnipeg @ Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2019 ) Vegas 1, Winnipeg 4

The Winnipeg Jets looked every bit the serious contender in the Western Conference heading into February, but that appearance is a bit cloudy after a pair of lopsided losses to Colorado during their three-game losing streak and two defeats to lowly Ottawa in a 2-4-2 stretch. The Jets look to get back on track Friday against the Vegas Golden Knights, who have lost six of their last seven at home (1-5-1).

"We were terrible. Unacceptable," Winnipeg forward Adam Lowry said in a brutally frank assessment of the team following Wednesday's 7-1 rout at the hands of the Avalanche. "I'm surprised. We knew they'd be hungry. They're fighting for a playoff spot. I guess we're fat and comfortable where we're at because the effort wasn't there." Kyle Connor, who scored in the third period to snap the Jets' 0-for-21 run on the power play, netted a short-handed and empty-net goal in a 4-1 victory versus Vegas on Jan. 15. That contest marked the first between the teams since the Golden Knights jolted the Jets in five games during the Western Conference Final. Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 129 of 135 shots in the last four contests of that series,but the three-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender has yielded 16 goals during his current four-game losing skid (0-3-1).

TV: 10 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountains (Vegas)

ABOUT THE JETS (36-20-4): Captain Blake Wheeler set up Lowry's goal on Wednesday to boost his team-leading totals in assists (57) and points (69), but the offensive contribution didn't hold much water in the bigger picture perspective. "I'm going to be looking in the mirror, trying to figure out what I've been doing," the 32-year-old Wheeler said. "I haven't been doing enough, playing well enough, getting this group motivated enough to compete at this level." Wheeler had a pair of assists in the first encounter versus Vegas and Mark Scheifele (club-best 30 goals) scored and set up a goal.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (32-25-5): Reilly Smith scored and set up a goal in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout loss to Boston to lift his point total to seven (one goal, six assists) in his last seven games. Paul Stastny set up Brandon Pirri's third-period tally against Winnipeg as part of his 13-point stretch in 13 contests before being held off the scoresheet in his last two games. The 27-year-old Pirri is mired in an offensive drought, mustering just two points since his goal versus the Jets.

OVERTIME

1. Vegas RW Alex Tuch recorded a pair of his club-best 26 assists and 42 points in February while C Jonathan Marchessault has scored two of his team-leading 19 goals in his last 12 games.

2. Jets C Mathieu Perreault has just two points since scoring versus the Golden Knights.

3. Vegas has won all three of its home contests versus Winnipeg, including victories in Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Final last spring.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 3, Jets 2