Penguins vs. Jets Scouting Report

Sunday, 10.16.2011 / 9:00 PM / Features

By Michelle Crechiolo

Pittsburgh Penguins
Overall: 3-1-2-8
Home: 1-1-1-3
Road: 2-0-1-5

WHEN: Oct. 17, 2011 - 8:30 pm | WHERE: MTS Centre
WATCH: ROOT SPORTS | LISTEN: Penguins 24/7 Radio, 105.9 FM

Winnipeg Jets
Overall: 0-3-0-0
Home: 0-1-0-0
Road: 0-2-0-0

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Winnipeg Jets

SCOUTING REPORT

GAME NOTES

PLAYER PROFILES

Jim Slater
	C - #19 2 Goals 0 Assists 2 Points
• Notched a pair of goals 3:05 apart in the first period of the Jets’ 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks on Oct. 13 while throwing a team-leading seven hits in the game. • Fourth-line center missed the final 41 games of the 2010-11 campaign with a concussion suffered in a collision with teammate Dustin Byfuglien at practice. • Former first-round pick of the franchise in 2002 has compiled seven goals and nine points in 19 career games against Pittsburgh.

Andrew Ladd
	LW - #16 1 Goal 0 Assists 1 Point
• Won a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2010 before being traded to Atlanta on the first day of free agency last summer -- where he was named team captain in November. • Also captured the 2006 Stanley Cup with Carolina, the team that drafted him in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2004 Entry Draft. • Posted a career-high 28 goals and 58 points and ranked third with 30 assists while leading Jets forwards with 20:04 of average ice time in 2010-11.

Ron Hainsey
	D - #6 0 goals 2 assists 2 points
• Recorded two assists and a plus-1 rating in the Jets’ 4-3 loss in Chicago on Oct. 13 – the 15th time in Hainsey’s career that he posted a pair of helpers in a game – while also leading Winnipeg 22:50 minutes played vs. the Blackhawks. • Led the team and ranked 10th in the league last year with 171 blocked shots. • Physically imposing defenseman (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) is in his third season with the Jets after coming from Columbus and Montreal.

When the original Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix 15 years ago, their fans hoped and prayed that NHL hockey would someday return to them.

That dream became a reality during the offseason, when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman officially announced that the Atlanta Thrashers had been sold to the True North Sports and Entertainment group and would move to the Manitoba capital in time for the 2011-12 season. Cue the rejoicing.

But despite all the fanfare and buildup surrounding the team’s return to Winnipeg, the Jets have had quite the anticlimactic start to the season. The Jets – who made the playoffs just once in 11 campaigns in Atlanta – have the unfortunate distinction of being the only remaining club in the league without at least one point in the standings, kicking off the year with three-straight regulation losses.

Winnipeg has had trouble generating offense over their first three games, while their defense has been struggling as well. They’ve been outscored by their opponents 13-5 and have yet to capitalize on the power play, being stymied on all 13 opportunities they’ve had to date.

Although they’ve had trouble putting the puck in the net, they have a forward group that showed promise at times last season. Captain Andrew Ladd scored a career-high 29 goals in 2010-11, but his line with Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler (who each had 18-goal campaigns last season) has been struggling off the hop. Imposing winger Nik Antropov has proved to be a Penguins killer over the course of his career, scoring 30 points (13G-17A) in 32 games against Pittsburgh.

They’ve got a few dynamic young guns up top, but will be without the tough-as-nails Evander Kane for Monday's contest per head coach Claude Noel. Kane, 20, led the Jets with 153 hits last season while ranking third with 19 goals. The Jets' other young talents include Alexander Burmistrov, 19, a Russian speedster who posted 20 points in his rookie season; and Mark Scheifele, 18, was the seventh-overall pick at this summer’s NHL Entry Draft.

Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom headline the Jets’ defense. Byfuglien, a beast of a player at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds, led all NHL defensemen last season with 20 goals and set a single-season franchise record for blueliners with 53 points. Enstrom was right behind, notching a team-leading 41 assists and 51 points. Enstrom stands much smaller at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, but logs big minutes and plays in all situations. Meanwhile, Mark Stuart – acquired last December from Boston along with Wheeler – has established himself as a leader, being named an alternate captain. Youngster Zach Bogosian, the third-overall pick in 2008, continues to develop into a key component of the Jets' D.

Ondrej Pavelec started the Jets’ first two games while Chris Mason got the nod in their third. Pavelec, 24, played 58 games for Winnipeg last season and won 21, but the big goaltender – 6-foot-3, 220 pounds – still has plenty of growing to do. He started last season hot, but cooled off as time went on. Pavelec will be in net Monday.

Jets netminders Ondrej Pavelec and Chris Mason are currently winless against the Penguins in their careers. Pavelec is 0-7 vs. Pittsburgh with a 4.67 goals-against average and .854 save percentage, while Mason is 0-4 against the Penguins with a 4.44 goals-against average and .849 save percentage.

The Jets have yet to find their first victory this season, marking their worst start since 2007-08 when they began, as the Atlanta Thrashers, with six straight losses. That year, their first win came at home on Oct. 18/07 against the New York Rangers (5-3 W). The team’s worst start in franchise history came in 2002-03 when the Thrashers dropped their first nine games.

The Jets' power play is one of three units in the league still looking for their first goal on the man advantage. Winnipeg has gone 0-for-13 so far this season, including 0-for-4 on Saturday in Phoenix. The other two teams still bitten on the power play are Anaheim (0-for-13) and the New York Rangers (0-for-12).

This is the Penguins’ first trip to the city of Winnipeg since a 1-0 win against the original Winnipeg Jets (now the Phoenix Coyotes) on Feb. 16, 1996. Tom Barrasso stopped all 32 shots he faced to pick up his 10th career shutout as a Penguin and Jaromir Jagr scored the lone goal off a Sergei Zubov assist.

Last season, the Penguins swept the Jets for the second time in three seasons. The Penguins are 11-1 against the Jets over the last three seasons (5-1 on the road), and head coach Dan Bylsma owns an 8-1 career record against Winnipeg (Atlanta).

Pascal Dupuis skated for parts of two seasons with the Thrashers from 2007-08 before being traded to Pittsburgh.
Dupuis appeared in 79 games with Atlanta, scoring 20 points (13G-7A) and adding three points (1G-2A) in four postseason contests. F Arron Asham was born in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba and Penguins assistant general manager Jason Botterill grew up in Winnipeg.

Forward James Neal enters Monday’s game tied for the league lead with five goals after scoring in the Penguins’ 3-2 loss vs. Buffalo Oct. 15. That goal gave Neal tallies in each of his past three games (4 goals total). With a goal tonight against the Jets, Neal can equal his career-long goal-scoring streak of four games, which he has done twice previously (most recently: Oct. 14-21, 2010; 4G

Since the beginning of the 2009-10 season, Neal has 18 goals and 32 points in 30 games during the month of October.

INJURY REPORT

2010-11 STAT CHART

F Sidney Crosby, concussion (indefinitely)
F Dustin Jeffrey, knee (indefinitely)
F Evgeni Malkin, lower-body (day-to-day)
D Brooks Orpik, lower abdominal/hernia (day-to-day)
D Boris Valabik, knee (indefinitely)


G	Neal (5)	Slater (2)
A	Letang (5)	Hainsey (2)
PTS	Neal/Letang (6)	Slater/Hainsey (2)
PIM	Malkin (8)	Three tied with (4)
+/-	Letang (3)	Three tied with (1)
PP	Neal (2)	None
SH	Park/Cooke (1)	None
W/L	Fleury (3-1-0)	Pavelec (0-2-0)
GAA	Fleury (2.72)	Pavelec (4.00)
SVP	Fleury (.907)	Pavelec (.882)

F Eric Fehr, shoulder (mid-November)
F Aaron Gagnon, knee (late October/early November)
F Evander Kane, undisclosed (indefinitely)
F Ben Maxwell, upper-body (day-to-day)
F Kenndal McArdle, lower-body (indefinitely)