GAMEDAY: Jets at Sabres

Two offensive powerhouses face off tonight in Buffalo, as the Winnipeg Jets (26-14-1) continue a three-game road trip against the Sabres.
Offence has never really been a problem for the Jets - as the 12 goals in the last two games would indicate - but the 3.34 goals-per-game that they average have to be generated the right way, especially against a Sabres squad that has been able to go shot for shot with every team in the league this season.
Buffalo's 3.84 goals-per-game are the most in the league, which sets up for quite the challenge for the Jets in all three zones.
"We have to be ready to defend and they come fast through their line-up," said Josh Morrissey. "They have a lot of skill and they'll try you one-on-one. We have to be ready to go from the drop of the puck, that put us behind the eight ball last game. Those will be some of the keys in my view."

In the loss to Detroit on Tuesday, a defeat that snapped a five-game win streak, it was the start that plagued the Jets. They were behind 3-0 after the first 15:27, and despite a valiant effort with the offensive firepower on the Winnipeg roster, they weren't able to get back on even footing.

For the final 45 minutes of the game, though, the Jets controlled play - dominated, in fact - so there were still a number of positives despite the loss.
"We're hoping we continue to do all the things we did so well in Detroit with the puck in their zone, on the rush, and the breakouts were all good," said head coach Rick Bowness. "We clearly have to tighten it up. It's not just (Tuesday) either. There were four against Vancouver, you take out the empty-netter out, that's 10 goals against in two games. That's not how we're going to be successful. It's as simple as that."
Bowness points to the rush opportunities Buffalo (20-17-2) creates as a point of emphasis tonight at Keybank Center, where the Sabres are 9-10-2 this season.
"They're the number one team in terms of controlling the puck, gaining the blue line, gaining the o-zone. That's what makes them so dangerous," he said. "Our big task tonight will be to try and get the puck out of their hands coming through the neutral zone so they can't do that, make it more of a forechecking game for them. If they're carrying the puck in like they have been against every other team and creating the offence on the rush, we'll be on our heels a little bit and that's not how we want to play."
More often than not, leading the way for Buffalo on the rush is Tage Thompson, who is one of just three players in the NHL to already hit the 30-goal mark. His 31 are behind only Davvid Pastrnak (32) and Connor McDavid (35) for the most in the league.
"When you get a guy that that's size, has hands like that, can skate, and has hockey sense, he's a pretty unique player," said Morrissey. "You have to be ready to go and try to know when he's out there and do all the things you'd do against a top offensive player in the league."
After recording an assist and playing 8:57 against Detroit, David Gustafsson won't be in the line-up for the Jets in Buffalo. He has an upper-body injury that Bowness suspects isn't too serious, but made sure the forward had a maintenance day Thursday instead of taking the morning skate.

Centre Kevin Stenlund is ready to return - he missed Tuesday's game in Detroit due to illness - and will take his familiar spot between Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Sam Gagner.
The Jets line-up is projected to look like this, with Connor Hellebuyck getting the start in goal:
Connor-Dubois-Ehlers
Perfetti-Scheifele-Wheeler
Barron-Lowry-Kuhlman
Jonsson-Fjallby-Stenlund-Gagner
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
One of the other intriguing match-ups in this game features two players tied for second in the NHL in scoring by defencemen.
Morrissey's 46 points are dead even with Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin.
"I remember watching him for the first time probably at the World Juniors and he made some guys look pretty silly at the blue line," said the 27-year-old Morrissey of the 22-year-old Sabres defenceman. "It's fun to watch all the top defencemen producing around the league, the stuff they're doing, and try to learn from it and maybe take something and implement it into your game."
Morrissey comes into the game without a point in his last two games - the first time this season that's happened - although he was a big part of the offence generated in Detroit, with four shots on goal in 27:30 of ice time.
Both Morrissey an Dahlin sit 10 points back of the defenceman with the most points in the NHL - Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks.
"They're fantastic players. I've loved watching Karlsson play since he came into the league," said Morrissey. "It's great to be there, it's something I've worked on throughout my career and thought it was potentially there.
"I'm having a lot of fun playing the game."
Puck drop is set for 6 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
At the 41-game mark of the season, the Jets had one of their best first halves o fa season in franchise history. Winnipeg's 26 wins matches the franchise best 26 wins through 41 games during the 2018-19 season.
The Jets are playing their seventh off 13 back-to-back sets on their schedule this season, having gone 7-5-0 so far.
Kyle Connor has 12 points (5G, 7A) during a seven-game scoring streak, which has propelled him into the team scoring lead with 50 points (20G, 30A) in 41 games. He's ninth in NHL scoring.
Nikolaj Ehlers has five points (2G, 3A) in three games since returning to the line-up on January 6. He hadn't played since October 17 in Dallas.
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