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Jets aim to find their offense in Philadelphia

Jan 31, 2012 - 4:04 PM (Sports Network) - The Winnipeg Jets scored just once over the first two games of their current six-game road trip, but they're hoping tonight's trip to Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center can help alleviate their scoring woes.

The Jets are 22nd in the NHL in goals per game (2.46), but their two-highest offensive outputs of the season came against the Flyers. Winnipeg posted a 9-8 victory in Philadelphia back on Oct. 27 and also recorded a 6-4 home decision against the Flyers on Nov. 19.

All told, Winnipeg has won five straight against the Flyers dating back to last season when the franchise was still located in Atlanta. The Jets/Thrashers franchise has also claimed the last five meetings in Philadelphia.

Winnipeg emerges from the All-Star break as the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference and the Jets are five points out of a playoff spot. Philadelphia, meanwhile, is fourth in the East with 63 points and is three behind the New York Rangers for first in the Atlantic Division.

The Jets entered the break on a three-game slide and they went 0-2 at the start of their six-game trek. Winnipeg was dealt a 2-1 loss at Carolina on Jan. 23 and was handed a 3-0 loss by the Rangers on the following night.

Winnipeg didn't have a player skating in Sunday's All-Star Game in Ottawa, but three Flyers participated in the game. Philadelphia defenseman Kimmo Timonen skated for the winning side, as he helped Team Chara post a 12-9 victory over Team Alfredsson. Claude Giroux posted a goal for Team Alfredsson and fellow Flyers forward Scott Hartnell added two assists for the losing side.

"It was really awesome," Hartnell said of his first All-Star Game. "It was a lot of fun and I'm just trying to take it all in."

Hartnell leads the Flyers with 25 goals and he has seven tallies over his last seven games. Giroux is leading the Flyers with 55 points and is three points behind Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin for the NHL lead.

Philadelphia won two of its last three games before the All-Star break and the Flyers went to the shootout in their last two trips to the ice. Boston posted a 6-5 shootout win in Philly on Jan. 22, but the Flyers rebounded with last Tuesday's 3-2 victory at Florida.

The Flyers hope to have forward Jaromir Jagr back tonight after he sat out the team's final two games before the All-Star break with a groin injury. The 39- year-old Czech is third on Philadelphia with 34 points this year and is questionable for tonight.

While Jagr could be back tonight, Flyers forwards Danny Briere and James van Riemsdyk are still out indefinitely with concussions.

The Jets are still without a few key players, as forward Evander Kane (concussion) and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (knee) are on injured reserve and centerman Alexander Burmistrov is dealing with an upper-body injury. All three players will miss tonight's game.