Boston Bruins (16-13-3) at Winnipeg Jets (16-10-6), 8 p.m. (ET)
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Boston Bruins will try to record consecutive victories for the first time in nearly a month when they visit the Winnipeg Jets for Friday's battle at MTS Centre.
The Bruins snapped a three-game slide and won for just the third time in 11 games after beating the Minnesota Wild in overtime on Wednesday. The current 3-5-3 stretch comes on the heels of Boston's last winning streak -- a three- game run from Nov. 15-21.
After edging the Wild 3-2, Boston hopes to close a three-game road trip with another victory. The Bruins boast a 4-1-1 mark in the last six meetings with the Jets, but Boston has lost four of the five meetings at MTS Centre since Winnipeg relocated from Atlanta.
Boston has dropped six of seven on the road in this series dating back to the days of the Atlanta Thrashers.
The Bruins earned Wednesday's win thanks to Loui Eriksson's game-winning marker 90 seconds into the extra session. Zdeno Chara flung the puck around the boards off a faceoff win, Carl Soderberg tracked it down and Eriksson deposited Soderberg's cross-crease pass into a wide-open net for the deciding marker.
Soderberg finished with a goal and an assist, Patrice Bergeron also lit the lamp and Niklas Svedberg made 35 saves for the Bruins.
"It was nice to see our team in overtime there take charge and find a way to win a hockey game with some real good determination," said Bruins head coach Claude Julien.
Bruins forward David Krejci made his return to the lineup after missing 11 straight games and 17 of the last 19 with a groin injury. He registered one shot in 18:22 of ice time.
Tuukka Rask could be back between the pipes for the Bruins tonight. The club's No. 1 netminder is 9-4-0 with a 1.90 goals against average in 13 career outings against the Thrashers/Jets.
Winnipeg halted a two-game slide its last time out while also gaining at least a point for the ninth time in 10 games (6-1-3).
The Jets slammed the visiting Buffalo Sabres by a 5-1 count on Tuesday, as Mark Scheifele led the way with two goals and an assist.
Evander Kane and Michael Frolik each posted a goal and an assist while Chris Thorburn also scored for the Jets. Ondrej Pavelec stopped 27 shots in the win.
"I thought we did a pretty good job of helping the D out and I thought the D played off each other pretty well and moved the puck pretty efficiently," said Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice.
The Jets improved their home record to 7-6-2 in the second test of a four-game homestand. The residency is set to end Sunday against Philadelphia.
Boston is 7-7-1 as the visiting team in 2014-15. The Bruins will host Buffalo on Sunday to begin a stretch of five home dates over six games.
It's uncertain if Pavelec or Michael Hutchinson will get the start tonight. Pavelec is 5-7-2 with a 3.02 GAA versus the Bruins in his career, while Winnipeg's backup is 1-0-1 lifetime with a 1.40 GAA in this matchup.
The Jets acquired defenseman Jay Harrison from the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday for a sixth-round draft pick. Winnipeg's blue line has been decimated by injury lately, with Zach Bogosian, Toby Enstrom, Mark Stuart and Jacob Trouba all currently on the shelf.
Harrison, a nine-year NHL veteran, had one goal and three assists in 20 games for Carolina this season. The Jets are attempting to get Harrison in the lineup for tonight's game.