GAME DAY: Jets make first visit to Little Caesars Arena

The Jets (17-6-4) are in search of their third straight win, but head coach Paul Maurice knows the Red Wings are a dangerous team, especially coming off a 10-1 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
"This will be as difficult a game as we've played all year," said Maurice. "Based on what we've seen, and what we know about the leadership in their room, and what we've heard about their group. That game against Ottawa broke after we got those two power play goals. This game is not going to break here tonight. It's going to be full on right to the very end.
"You're going to see a really unusual event here. There's a gear change in the NHL at the All-Star Break, and everybody knows that when you hit the playoffs you get a fully focused, wired team. That's the coach's challenge over 82, and you never really get to that - 20 guys, chomping at the bit, solely focused on one concept, which for them will be winning battles and competing."

With Connor back in the fold, Mathieu Perreault was back with Matt Hendricks and Joel Armia this morning, with the full line rushes looking like this.
Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Ehlers-Little-Laine
Copp-Lowry-Tanev
Perreault-Hendricks-Armia
Morrissey-Trouba
Chiarot-Byfuglien
Kulikov-Myers
Instagram from @ryandittrick: Tyler Myers has goals in back-to-back games and with five tallies and 14 points overall, is on pace for a career year offensively. 57's looking for more tonight vs. the @detroitredwings!
Despite the Wings being winless in their last seven outings (0-4-3), forward Dylan Larkin is averaging almost a point-per-game, with 23 points in Detroit's 27 games.
"If you're flat-footed or your gap isn't right, he's going to be able to take advantage of that," said Josh Morrissey. "It's nice to know a little bit about each player you play against. Sort of understand little things, maybe you have to have a little bit bigger gap, or tendencies that they have. He's got a lot of speed and skill, and a good shot as well. He's a player you have to be aware of for sure."

The power play could be a spot where the Jets can take advantage tonight. With a combined six goals on ten opportunities the past two games, Winnipeg's power play is ranked second in the NHL.
The Red Wings have allowed a power play goal against in each of their last four games, and over the seven game winless skid, their penalty kill is ranked 27th in the league.
"We're moving fast. We're letting the puck do the work, and obviously a lot of confidence right now with the success we've had," said Tyler Myers, who has a power play goal in each of the last two games. "You can just tell, all the guys out there, we're just playing quick. We're going to want to do that coming into tonight and going forward."

Coming off his first shutout of the season, Connor Hellebuyck (15-2-3, 2.31 goals against average) will get the start in goal for the Jets tonight, while Jimmy Howard (8-8-4, 2.94 goals against average) gets the call for Detroit.
Puck drop is set for 6:30 pm CT.
- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
JETS GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets begin a three-game road trip tonight against the Detroit Red Wings...It's the Jets' first trip to the brand new Little Caesars Arena...The Jets shut out the Ottawa Senators 5-0 on Sunday evening to sweep a two-game homestand...Following tonight's= game, the Jets head to Florida to play the Panthers on Thursday and Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday...The Jets are back at home on Dec. 11 to play the Vancouver Canucks.
Jets vs. Red Wings Notes
- Jets and Red Wings split last season's two games, with the Jets winning 5-3 in Detroit, and losing 3-4 (so) in Winnipeg.
- The Jets have won three of last four meetings with the Red Wings.
- Connor Hellebuyck is 2-0-1 with a 2.27 GAA and .928 SV% in three career starts against Detroit.
Opening Salvo
The Jets scored twice in the first period on Sunday and lead the NHL with 36 first period goals, which is four more than the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs...Winnipeg was ninth in the NHL last season with 70 first period goals in 82 games...This season, the Jets have scored 26 second period goals and 31 third period goals...The Jets are 13-1-3 when scoring first this season.
Playing with Power
The Jets have climbed to second in the NHL with a 27.4 power play percentage for the season...The surge has been propelled by Winnipeg going 12-for-31 (38.7%) on the power play during its last eight games, which includes four multi power play goal games...The Jets have scored three power play goals in back-to-back games and three times total this season, which comprise three of the seven times since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season that the Jets have scored three power goals in a game.
Facing the East
The Jets continue a string of four consecutive games against an Eastern Conference team with this road trip...The Jets are 5-2-3 against the Eastern Conference this season, including 1-1-1 against the Atlantic Division.
Get in the Flow
Through December, the Jets play virtually every other day...Aside from the three-day Christmas break, the only other time the Jets have back-to-back days without a game before the new year is Dec. 12-13...Winnipeg is 13-1-2 when having one day off between games, while the team is 3-4-1 when having two days off or more between games.
Nearly 50
The Jets took 49 shots in Sunday's win against Ottawa, which is a season-high...It was one shy of the franchise record 50 shots taken on Dec. 21/09 vs. MTL...It marked the third time the Jets have had 49 shots on a game since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season - Mar. 8/14 vs. OTT and Mar. 22/16 vs. VAN.
Wheeler Four-Points/First Star
Captain Blake Wheeler was named the NHL's first star of the week on Monday after recording 10 points (2G, 8A) in four games last week in leading the Jets to a 3-0-1 record...The Jets captain leads the NHL in assists with 28 and sits fourth in the league in points scoring with 35...Wheeler scored and added a pair of assists in a 7-4 win vs. Minnesota on Nov. 27 before being held off the scoresheet in the club's 3-2 overtime loss on Nov. 29 at Colorado...The Plymouth, MN native then recorded a trio of assists in Winnipeg's 7-4 over Vegas on Dec. 1 before capping the week with a goal and another three assists in the 5-0 victory vs. Ottawa on Dec. 3...Wheeler is the first player in the NHL to record three four-point games this season.
Four-Game Streakers
Mark Scheifele tallied a goal and an assist on Sunday to extend his point streak to four games (3G, 6A)...Bryan Little had an assist on Sunday to extend his point streak to four games (2G, 2A)... Scheifele and Little are on their longest point streak of the season.
First Goose Egg
Connor Hellebuyck made 21 saves on Sunday for his first shutout of the season...He's undefeated in regulation in his last five starts (4-0-1) and has a 2.00 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in those five starts...Hellebuyck is 11th in the NHL with a .925 save percentage.
Rare 49 in 100
Patrik Laine scored his 13th goal of the season on Sunday and has 49 goals in his first 100 games...According to Elias, Laine is just the fourth player since the 2005-06 season to score 49 goals in his first 100 games, joining Alex Ovechkin (64), Auston Matthews (52) and Sidney Crosby (49)...Laine has scored 27 goals at home and 22 on the road...He had 16 goals through his first 27 games last year.