DALLAS - The Winnipeg Jets carry a four-game win streak into Dallas where they'll take on the Stars for the final time in the regular season tonight.
The Jets (48-24-6) picked up an overtime win in Nashville on Tuesday to improve their record against Central Division opponents to 18-5-1, an improvement over an impressive 18-8-0 mark last season. However, there is one team in the division that has given the Jets trouble this season, and that's been the Stars.
Dallas (50-20-9) has won all three meetings against Winnipeg this season, and are also 9-1-0 in their last 10 games overall. That stretch has pushed Dallas to top spot in the Central Division with 107 points, five clear of Colorado and seven up on Winnipeg. Should the Jets come out on top, it will prevent the Stars from clinching the division title.
But Winnipeg's focus isn't on that outcome, and they don't fear Dallas possibly winning all four games against them this season. No the focus is soley on how they play.
"If we play a great game and we lose and we’re swept, we’re swept. It’s more important to me how we play this game," said head coach Rick Bowness. "We’ll just have to make sure that we’re playing Winnipeg Jet hockey.”
That type of hockey is fast-paced, but patient at the same time. Yes, the Jets want to get in on the forecheck and force turnovers to spend time in the offensive zone. But the other key to that is managing the puck and not trying to make low percentage plays. After all, those low percentage plays can lead to turnovers, which feeds right into what Dallas - second in the league in average goals per-game at 3.67 - wants to do.
"They have three lines that really produce, they’ve got a great back end and really good goaltending," said Adam Lowry. "It’s one of those games that you have to be patient in and you can’t try and break it open.
"You saw how many shots we gave up against Nashville - a lot of that was our own doing in the second period. They’re one of the best teams in the league and we have to be ready right from the start."
The start of the game is what put the Jets in a tough spot in their last visit to Dallas on February 29.
The Stars scored three times in the opening period, and Winnipeg wasn't able to recover, falling by a score of 4-1.
If Winnipeg wants to extend their four-game win streak to five, they know they'll need to get up to speed quickly.
"We’ve come out of these games and to me, we’re sitting back too much," said Bowness. "If we’re going to sit back, they’re going to be all over us. We have to have a hard, aggressive start. It starts with faceoffs, it starts with puck management going through the neutral and putting a little pressure on them without giving up the odd-man rushes and the early chances we gave up in here last game."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
PROJECTED LINE-UP
David Gustafsson, who is celebrating his 24th birthday on Thursday, will draw into the Jets line-up for the first time since March 28 against Vegas.
He'll play on a line with Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton.
"Those are two good players to be playing with too. It’s something you’ve been waiting for for a while and something you want to do. I’m excited to get the chance," he said. "I feel like the work I put in through the summer and the whole season too, just doing the extra work to be quicker. Today we’re going to play against some really fast guys. You have to be ready for it. Hopefully I’ve done the work good enough."
Bowness said part of the decision was because of the amount of scoring chances the Jets gave up in Nashville two days ago.
"I didn’t like our last game, in terms of giving up 17 scoring chances, so he’ll go on left wing with Adam and Apple and we’ll try to tighten things up a little bit," Bowness said. "This team we’re playing is playing the best hockey we’ve been playing all year. They’re very explosive."
In putting Gustafsson with Lowry and Appleton, Bowness has also shifted Tyler Toffoli to the right wing with two players he's skated with the most during his time as a Jet - Sean Monahan and Nikolaj Ehlers.
"The line of Ehlers, Monahan and Toffoli is that before Tyler got sick, they were scoring a goal every game, so I wanted to put them back together," Bowness said. "You move Tyler out of there (with Lowry) and you put him back (with Monahan), so you’ve got to make sure that (Lowry’s) line is given the right personnel to play their role. So Gus was the best fit.”
The line rushes looked like this, with Laurent Brossoit getting the start in goal:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Ehlers-Monahan-Toffoli
Gustafsson-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Namestnikov-Iafallo
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Stanley-Samberg
MILESTONE FOR LOWRY
Adam Lowry will play in his 700th career game tonight. He'll be the 21st player from the 2011 NHL Draft class to hit the mark.
"I’m super thankful to have been fortunate enough to play in the league this long doing something I love," Lowry said. "That’s the thing you think back on when you look back on your career, grateful for the support I’ve had from my family and grateful to have done it all with one organization. It’s another game for me, now, at this point, but it’s always nice to hit these milestones."
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
