GAMEDAY: Jets at Golden Knights (Game 5)

As if the Winnipeg Jets needed any more inspiration heading into tonight's do-or-die Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights, one look around the out-of-town scoreboard last night shows what's possible.
"Florida goes into Boston and wins in overtime last night, Islanders go into Carolina and win their game down 3-1," said head coach Rick Bowness. "So it's our turn tonight."
That message has been heard throughout the Jets dressing room.
"It's one game at a time. We can't be thinking of Game 6 or 7, we have to be thinking of Game 5 tonight," said Pierre-Luc Dubois. "We win this game, it changes. We saw with the Islanders and with Florida. It changes everything. For us, it's one game at a time."

The template is there. The Jets have had success in T-Mobile Arena since the start of the 2018-19 season - going 3-2-1 - and they won Game 1 of the current series as well.
"I know everything is based on the score and we ended up losing those last three, but there has been a lot of spells during those games we've played very well," said Bowness. "We weren't rewarded for it, but it doesn't mean we weren't playing the type of game we want to play, because we were."
There is no question the Jets will lay it all on the line to extend their season tonight, and force the series back to Winnipeg for Game 6.
The only question marks have to do with the line-up. The only real guarantees are that Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey won't play, nor will Cole Perfetti (who is still in a non-contact jersey), and David Rittich still isn't healthy enough to back up Connor Hellebuyck.
Nikolaj Ehlers took part in the optional skate Thursday morning, but Bowness couldn't say with any certainty whether the speedy forward will be able to make his series debut.
"He needs medical clearance, and I'm not a doctor," said Bowness. "That's not my final call. We're not going to put a player on the ice unless we know we're not going to put him in a vulnerable position. So we'll let the doctors make that call."
The Jets may also make a change on the blue line. After Logan Stanley played 8:58 in his series debut in Game 4, Bowness might put in Kyle Capobianco for Game 5 in what would be the defenceman's Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.
"You take Mark (Scheifele) out of there - and he's a no go - we need another power play guy," said Bowness. "So if we make that move, that's where Capo will go."
While Natural Stat Trick has the high-danger chances at five-on-five tied at 33 in the series, the Jets want to make life a little more difficult for Vegas goaltender Laurent Brossoit in Game 5.
"I think that aggressive mindset is what we have to bring to the table," said Dubois. "I think a lot of it is how you think within the game, how you approach it. We have to be aggressive in that sense. Some teams in this league are okay with giving you o-zone time on the outside, because that's not where you're necessarily really dangerous. Sometimes you'll try a play into the middle and it won't go through, but at least you tried something."
Bowness adds that it also comes down to timing. He feels the Jets are getting to the front of the net with some regularity - although more is always better - sometimes, though, the puck doesn't get to the net.
In their own zone, Adam Lowry would like to see the Jets get to some loose pucks a bit quicker.
"Some of it is doing a better job of tying up sticks in front of our own net and then getting loose, winning those races to those second pucks," he said. "There's been some chances that have kind of sat in the crease against LB and they've just beat us to clearing those. Or, you know, we've missed the net and things like that."
The Jets have faced adversity throughout the season and have always seemed to find a way to persevere. Whether it was the injuries at the start of the season right through until January, or the battle to clinch the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference, they've taken every challenge head on.
Tonight, they expect nothing different.
"I think we're a determined group here and we're optimistic that, if we play up to our capabilities, we give ourselves a good chance to win," said Lowry. "We've got a great goalie. He's been the backbone of our team all year. We've got a lot of depth. Obviously, we're missing some key players out of our lineup but it's a great opportunity for some other guys. You always want that opportunity to step up and show that you deserve to play more or you deserve a bigger role. What better way to do it than when you're missing guys like Scheif and J-Mo."
Puck drop is set for 9 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
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