GAME DAY: Jets at Sharks

SAN JOSE, California - Nic Petan will draw into the line-up for the Winnipeg Jets as they try to get back in the win column Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks.
Petan last played on Nov. 29 against the Chicago Blackhawks and has one assist in 11 games this season.
"It's always exciting when you get back in," said Petan. "I just have to hop in and continue where I left off, work hard and bring some energy."
Jets head coach Paul Maurice said inserting Petan into tonight's game is due to some "question marks" health wise.
As for what he expects from the 23-year-old, Maurice said he wants to see the experience that comes from the 106 NHL games Petan has played.

"Nic can move the puck well. He's been in the league now long enough he can read the game that's happening," Maurice said, adding it's likely Petan plays on the fourth line tonight. "It's going to be a real challenge for those guys tonight because of the size and speed (the Sharks) have throughout their line-up."

As a group, the Jets (22-10-2) are looking to bounce back from a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. The setback was the first game of a three-game road trip and snapped Winnipeg's season-long five-game win streak at the same time.
But the Jets are 10-1-0 following a loss of any kind this season and know they'll have to be at their best against the Sharks, who coincidentally also have a five-game win streak coming into tonight's action.
"We just have to focus on the way we start the game. We can't let them score a couple goals right away," said Patrik Laine.
"Just play good defence, focus on our start, and we'll be good."
Both teams feature defencemen that like to jump into the play offensively. The Jets have four players in double digits in the points column with Dustin Byfuglien leading the way with 26 in 28 games.

But those points haven't come at the expense of being responsible defensively. Some nights, he and partner Ben Chiarot are tasked with shutting down the opposing team's best, especially when going up against deep forward groups like the Jets will face tonight.
"You can't have one pair shutting down the top pair every night. Different match-ups are going to be because of the different ways guys think," said Byfuglien, who's averaging a team-high 24:33 of playing time each night. "It's been good. They've done a pretty good job back there rolling us through and doing our job."
San Jose's blue line was bolstered by the acquisition of Erik Karlsson in the off season. He and Brent Burns are the top two point-producing defencemen on the Sharks roster. Add Byfuglien to that mix, and Maurice believes tonight's game features three of the game's most "unique" defencemen.
"There are not a lot of comparables to those three guys," said Maurice. "Burns with his size and his ability to shoot the puck - one-time off a play that comes low to high off an indirect (pass) - these guys I believe are about third in the National Hockey League for shots on goal from their defence.
"Karlsson does it in a completely different way. His acceleration and his change of direction up and in the rush is unique. Dustin clearly does a lot of things. He can be a huge physical force at times but can show incredible hands."

The Sharks are coming off a 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild two nights ago and have been led offensively by Logan Couture's eight points during their win streak.
At 19-11-5, San Jose sits in a tie for second in the Pacific Division.
"It's going to be a tough game for sure. I think they're kind of similar to LA, just more speed and skill. It's going to be a quick and speedy game," said Laine. "We need to be ready to play our best game for 60 minutes and not give them anything easily."
Connor Hellebuyck was the first goaltender off the ice at Winnipeg's morning skate and is expected to start between the pipes, while Martin Jones gets the call for the Sharks.
Puck drop is set for 9:30 pm CT.
--Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Today's Game
The Winnipeg Jets play the middle game of a three-game road trip tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks...The Jets started the road trip with a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night, which ended Winnipeg's five-game winning streak...The Jets finish the road trip Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks before having a four-day Christmas break from Dec. 23-26...The next home action for the Jets is Dec. 27 against the Calgary Flames.
Party in the Pacific
The Jets are 5-2-1 against Pacific Division opponents this season and are in the midst of four consecutive games against Pacific Division opponents...Winnipeg was a dominant 17-4-2 against Pacific Division foes last season and are on a 16-3-3 run in their last 22 games versus the Pacific...Mark Scheifele (4G, 5A) and Dustin Byfuglien (1G, 8A) lead the Jets in scoring against the Pacific Division this season with nine points each, while Patrik Laine (7G, 1A) is averaging a point per game through eight games.
On the Road Again
After playing four of five games at home, the Jets are in the midst of five of seven games on the road where they are 9-6-0 this season...The Jets' five-game road winning streak came to an end on Tuesday, which matched the franchise record Winnipeg set last year from Feb. 23-Mar. 8/18...The Jets have played just 15 games on the road this season, which is tied for the second fewest in the NHL...Patrik Laine (16G, 1A) and Blake Wheeler (2G, 15A) lead the Jets in scoring on the road with 17 points in 15 games.
Only One
After averaging 5.4 goals per game during their five-game winning streak, the Jets scored just once on Tuesday against Los Angeles...Winnipeg has been limited to one goal or less in just five games this season (0-4-1), which is tied for fourth fewest in the NHL.
VIEW THE FULL GAME NOTES
Another Star
Mark Scheifele was named the NHL's second star of the week on Monday...He opened the week with a goal and an assist in Winnipeg's 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday...On Thursday, the Kitchener, Ont. native had three points (1G, 2A), including an assist on the winner in the Jets' 5-4 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers...Scheifele scored a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, and added an assist as Winnipeg won in overtime again the following night in Chicago...On Sunday, he had a pair of assists and again tallied the winner in sudden death in a 5-4 come from behind victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning...He's the second player in franchise history to record three-or-more points in three straight games (also Marc Savard from Nov. 9-12/05)...In total last week, he led the league in points with 11 (5G, 6A)...This is the third time this season (also Dec. 3 - First Star and Oct. 29 - Second Star) and the sixth time in his career that Scheifele has been selected in the NHL's Three Stars of the Week...He is the fifth Jets player to be selected in 2018-19 after Winnipeg had eight appearances in the Three Stars of the Week last season...Scheifele joins Patrik Laine (Nov. 26 - First Star) and Blake Wheeler (Nov. 12 - Second Star) as members of the Jets that have earned NHL Three Stars of the Week honours this season.
Five in a Row
Mathieu Perreault has scored in five consecutive games, which is the longest goal scoring streak of his career...Three of his five goals have come on the power play and six different Jets have an assist on the five tallies...Perreault is one of nine players in the NHL to have a goal scoring streak of five games or longer this season.
Faceoff Duo
Bryan Little (7-for-9, 78%) and Adam Lowry (7-for-10, 70%) each won 70% or more of their faceoffs against the Kings on Tuesday...It's the third time this month the Jets have had two centremen take at least nine faceoffs in a game and won at least 70% of them...Lowry is fourth in the NHL in faceoff winning percentage at 57.6%.
Wingman
While his four-game assist streak came to an end on Tuesday, Blake Wheeler is still second in the NHL with 39 assists in 34 games this season...Wheeler has 107 assists during the last two seasons, which is the most in the NHL, and he is the only player in the NHL to have more than 100 assists during that time frame...Wheeler's 422 career assists is second among right wingers since his rookie season of 2008-09...He is one assist away from reaching 40 assists for the fourth consecutive season and sixth time in his career.