NHL Preview: Jets (26-17) at Flames (27-20)
Date: February 02, 2015 9:00 PM EDT
As the Calgary Flames continue to thrive in the third period, penalty kill problems have plagued the Winnipeg Jets throughout their current rough stretch.
In a matchup between Western Conference wild-card leaders, the Flames look to hand the visiting Jets a fourth consecutive defeat Monday night.
Calgary (27-20-3) overcame a 2-0 deficit by doing all its scoring in the third period of Saturday's 4-2 win over Edmonton. Lance Bouma scored twice for the Flames, whose nine wins when trailing after two periods and 63 third-period goals are both league highs.
'We've done it a lot this year,' said Bouma, who has a career-high eight goals in his fourth season. "We definitely have the belief in here going into the third period, whether we're down by three or down by two, that we can come back in the game.'
A winner in six of eight, Calgary has recorded seven goals in the third period of those last two victories.
"I think the biggest thing is just confidence," Bouma said. "That's huge for us. Every game from here on in is going to be huge."
Looking for their first playoff appearance since 2008-09, the Flames are three points behind wild-card-leading Winnipeg (26-17-8).
One of Calgary's four goals Saturday came on the power-play, where it's 2 for 9 in three games after going 4 for 57 in the previous 17 contests.
Winnipeg's last three opponents are 7 for 13 on the power play after Dallas converted half of its eight chances while handing the Jets a 5-2 loss Saturday. The Jets killed 19 of 20 penalties while winning the previous five in a row.
"We've lost three in a row so you have to deal with that," said coach Paul Maurice, whose team has allowed five goals in each of the last three. "We're slow on our (penalty) kill right now and that's a confidence thing."
Winnipeg, which dropped a season-high four in a row from Oct. 11-19, drew 35 minutes in penalties Saturday - its third-highest total of the season.
'It's something that we need to get better at,' said captain Andrew Ladd, who had a goal with an assist. 'At times, you try to wind yourself up as much as possible emotionally, trying to finish your check and (be) involved in the game.
'Sometimes, we've been taking it too far, so it's something where we have to get better at walking that line and being more disciplined.'
Calgary scored once in the third period and went 1 for 3 with the man advantage in a 4-1 win at Winnipeg on Oct. 19. The Flames' Mason Raymond recorded three of his 10 points on the season and Jonas Hiller made 34 saves.
Hiller, who missed some time last month because of the flu, has a 1.35 goals-against average while winning two of his last three starts.
Winnipeg's Michael Hutchinson, who made 27 saves Saturday, has allowed nine goals while losing two straight since shutting out Columbus for his fourth straight victory.
Teammate Ondrej Pavelec has a 3.36 GAA during a 2-3-2 stretch, and is 1-3-0 with a 3.55 GAA against the Flames.
The Jets franchise has won two straight at Calgary since losing its first six trips.
