GAME DAY: Jets vs Predators

WINNIPEG -Nikolaj Ehlers may have four goals and eight points since returning from injury on Feb. 22, but the young forward feels his game can go to another level.
The 23-year-old sees tonight's game against the Nashville Predators as an opportunity to get to that level - and he'll be trying to take advantage of that opportunity with new line mates.
Ehlers skated alongside Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler at this morning's skate, two players he's very familiar with.
"I got injured, got back, and I haven't really got back to that level yet. All of it is on me. I have to get back to playing that way that I did before the injury," said Ehlers.
"With those two, the passes they make, the reads, the plays, they're two great players. I'm going to do my best to get back to where I was. It's got to start now."

Playing on the wing with Scheifele and Wheeler is a spot Ehlers is familiar with. He's been in that spot in previous seasons, as well as in December of this season prior to his injury on Jan. 4.
In fact, from Nov. 29 until his injury in Pittsburgh, Ehlers scored 10 goals (including two hat tricks) and added five assists in 15 games.
"Anybody we play with Mark and Blake plays their best hockey," said Jets head coach Paul Maurice.
"There is an understanding when you play there. Everything is different because they play against the other team's best. That's a different animal. It's harder."
The benefits Maurice has seen from whoever plays on that left wing - Ehlers, Laine, or Kyle Connor - are endless. Besides the competition they go up against, players also get a sense of what it takes to play against the other team's best night after night.
"We've rolled those guys around in the playoff series and during the year and that's going to continue there because it's a big job," said Maurice. "It takes a while to develop a tank big enough to play with those two guys."
Moving Ehlers was just one of the moves Maurice made in a line-up shuffle following the 5-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
At this morning's skate at Bell MTS Place, the full Jets line-up looked like this:
Ehlers-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Hayes-Laine
Little-Lowry-Tanev
Perreault-Copp-Hendricks
Beaulieu-Trouba
Kulikov-Myers
Chiarot-Niku
In recent weeks, Laine has spent time on the left wing - his off side as a right-handed shooter. But Maurice wants to take a look at Laine back on his natural side with Kevin Hayes in the middle, given that Hayes is left-handed.
"Looking just at stats and chances for and opportunities, we feel (Patrik) would get more on the right side," said Maurice, who feels Connor has an important role on the left wing of that line. "(Connor) has a real developed two-way game, defensive game, and an awful lot of speed. It's a certain kind (of speed). He's a straight-line guy. He can get in on the forecheck. We'd like to see that and get Patrik back to a place where he's done the big bulk of his scoring, which is on the right side."

At 44-26-4, the Jets hold a two-point lead over the Predators for top spot in the Central Division standings.
Both teams come into tonight's final regular season meeting coming off losses. While Winnipeg's came at the hands of the Golden Knights to wrap up a three-game road trip, the Predators dropped a 2-1 shootout decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
Still, both teams have been playing well of late. The Jets had won four in a row leading into the loss to Vegas, while the Predators have points in each of their last four outings, going 3-0-1 in that span.
"I'm looking forward to it. It's become a bit of a rivalry over the last few years," said Matt Hendricks, who draws into the line-up for the second time since the trade deadline. "They're a big heavy team, we're a big heavy team. You get those hard-fought games, those corner battles, pucks down low behind the net. I'm looking forward to it. It's a big challenge."
Tonight's game is the next chapter in the growing rivalry between the Jets and Predators. It's also the 10th time in 12 games the Jets have faced a playoff team in the month of March.
In Maurice's mind, that kind of competition is ideal for the mindset he wants the dressing room to have with the regular season winding down.
"We've viewed our March like that in terms of how we handled our wins and losses," said Maurice. "We left our losses there, we took what we could learn from them, but we didn't put a lot of emotion into a loss, so we could come back and play hard the next day.
"I look at our March and I think mentally we're right where we are. This will be a great grinder here."
Connor Hellebuyck will get the start in goal for the Jets with puck drop set for 6 pm CT.
ICE CHIPS
The Jets got some good news on Laurent Brossoit after the goaltender left the game against Vegas with an injury in the second period.
Vegas forward Cody Eakin slid into Brossoit near the end of the first period, causing the Jets goaltender to feel some discomfort that he couldn't shake.
A test on Friday revealed positive info though, which means the team feels Brossoit is day-to-day. Maurice is "hopeful" it doesn't keep Brossoit out long.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets begin a four-game homestand, their last of the season, tonight when they entertain the Nashville Predators...The Jets are coming off a 2-1 Pacific Division road trip, which ended with a 5-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night...Winnipeg continues the homestand Monday against the Dallas Stars.
Playoff Picture
Magic Number: 1
Current Point Total: 92
Projected Playoff Line: 87 Points
Jets Could Clinch a Playoff Spot: If any one of the following scenarios occurs...
- Earn a point against Nashville
- Arizona and Colorado losing in any fashion
- Minnesota losing in any fashion and Arizona or Colorado losing in regulation
- Minnesota losing in any fashion and Arizona and Colorado losing in overtime or a shootout
If the Playoffs Started Today...: The Jets (1st in the Central) would have home ice against the Dallas Stars (1st in Wild Card) in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Chance to Clinch
Tomorrow is the second chance the Jets have this season to clinch their spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs via the scenarios outlined above...Last season, the Jets clinched their playoff spot on Mar. 25 at home with a 5-4 shootout win against the Nashville Predators...The Jets needed 102 points to clinch last season, but can do so this year with 94 points.
At Home
Winnipeg has the fourth-best home record in the NHL this season at 24-9-4...The Jets have points in 13 of their past 16 home games (11-3-2), which included a seven-game winning streak from Jan. 6-Feb. 2, but haven't won consecutive home games since the winning streak ended...The Jets have the best power play at home in the NHL this season at 31.9% and have scored a power play goal in five consecutive home games (5-for-16, 31.3%)...Winnipeg's 36 power play goals at home this season is second in the NHL...The Jets have a 56-15-6 record at Bell MTS Place during the past two seasons, which is third best home record in the NHL...The Jets have scored 139 goals at home this season, which is third in the NHL, and have outscored their opposition 113-59 in their 24 wins.
Central Foes
The Jets are 11-10-0 against Central Division teams this season...Winnipeg is 2-5 in their past seven games against Central Division teams and both wins have come against Nashville (Jan. 17 at NSH 5-1 W and Mar. 1 vs. NSH 5-3 W)...Since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Jets are 45-27-4 against Central Division teams, which is second in the NHL...In that same time frame, Blake Wheeler leads all NHLers in scoring against the Central Division with 97 points (28G, 69A) in 76 games, while Mark Scheifele is second with 89 points (36G, 53A) in 68 games.
Springing Ahead
March and April have historically been successful months for the Jets, as the team has gone 84-55-15 in those two months since relocation...During the past three seasons, the Jets are 34-12-2 in March and April, including a perfect 8-0-0 in April...Blake Wheeler is the franchise's leading scorer in March with 121 points (47G, 74A) in 129 games...Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is 17-7-2 in March during his career with a 2.64 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.
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Wheels Keep Turning
Blake Wheeler has a point in 54 of his 74 games this season...With 88 points (20G, 68A), Wheeler is guaranteed to have better than a point per game this season for the second consecutive season...He has 68 assists this season, which is second in the NHL and has matched the career high he set last season...Wheeler needs one assist to match Marc Savard's franchise record of 69 assists in a season...Wheeler has scored 20 goals or more in six consecutive seasons...During the past four seasons, Wheeler's 236 assists are second most in the NHL.
Magic 80
Mark Scheifele scored in the first period of Wednesday's 3-0 win against Anaheim to reach 80 points (35G, 45A)...He joins Blake Wheeler (20G, 68A) in reaching the 80-point plateau...This is the third time in franchise history two players have reached 80 points in the same season and the first time since relocation.
Hit Record
Brandon Tanev had six hits on Thursday and leads the Jets in hits this season with 252, which is fourth in the NHL...He has had four hits in a game 33 times this season...Tanev has eclipsed his career high of 188 hits he had last season...He needs five hits to set a franchise record for most hits in a season, which is currently held by Adam Lowry, who had 256 hits during the 2014-15 season...Tanev is averaging 3.41 hits per game this season, which is on pace to be a single-season franchise record.