GAMEDAY: Jets vs Flames

WINNIPEG -While three of the Winnipeg Jets' injured players are close to a return, tonight won't be the night.
Nate Schmidt, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Cole Perfetti all took the optional morning skate in regular practice jerseys, but their return will have to wait at least one more game, as the Jets (23-13-1) open a three-game home stand tonight against the Calgary Flames (18-13-7).
"If this was a playoff game, the three guys who weren't in red would probably play," said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. "They've only had one practice with us yesterday. This gives us a couple extra days and an extra practice on Thursday. We're hoping to have a few of them in the line-up for Friday."
Tonight's tilt with the Flames is Winnipeg's third straight against a Canadian opponent, and third straight against a Pacific Division opponent.

Winnipeg's record against the Pacific is 7-4-1, thanks to back-to-back victories over the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers.
Neal Pionk, who had a goal and an assist against Edmonton, says the Flames present a bit of a different challenge than the Oilers.
"They outplayed us a little bit and we have stuff to work on. When we win, it's a good thing," Pionk said of the Edmonton game. "Calgary is a little more physical. They are going to come out and play. They're desperate. We have to be desperate, too."
The New Year's Eve win in Edmonton was Pionk's fourth multi-point game of the season, and the goal was his sixth of the season. That ties him with Josh Morrissey for the most goals on the team among defencemen, who have 18 goals so far this season.
"We tell the forwards to get us the puck, the good players," Pionk laughed. "No. It's kind of a mindset we have from defencemen, we got to help more, we've got to score more. It's been a point of emphasis from the team, and the defencemen within."

That type of offence, specifically from defencemen, was a point of emphasis for Rick Bowness in training camp and he wants to see it continue.
"We watch how our chances are developing," Bowness said. "If our D is third or fourth guy, but they started the play, well that's what we're looking for too. It may not show up on the stat board for you guys, but for us it does. In terms of our defence creating more offence, we're happy with that and we're going to keep getting better at it."
Bowness expects the Jets line-up to remain the same as the 2-1 win over Edmonton on Saturday. Morrissey didn't take part in Monday's practice, or Tuesday's optional skate, but Bowness' expectation is that Morrissey will play.
The line-up in front of Connor Hellebuyck, who also didn't take part in the optional skate, is projected to look like this:
Connor-Dubois-Reichel
Lowry-Scheifele-Kuhlman
Barron-Stenlund-Jonsson-Fjallby
Eyssimont-Gustafsson-Gagner
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Dillon-Heinola
A lot of the lines will probably change once healthy bodies start to return, but Kristian Reichel was full marks for his promotion to the right wing with Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois during the game in Edmonton.
"Our lefties have had a tough time getting the puck off the boards and making plays in the D-zone. (Reichel) is a right-hand shot," said Bowness. "He was doing those things early in the game, so we liked what we saw. So, we gave him more ice time and gave him a better opportunity. Okay, you're doing these things well, let's find out what we've got."
What the Jets got was an assist from Reichel on the eventual game-winner from Connor.

It's just another example of players stepping up on the Jets roster during a time when seven regulars are out due to injury. Another name Bowness pointed out was Kevin Stenlund, who has three points in 10 games and has won 59 percent of his face-offs in that span.
When Bowness arrived in training camp, he had to spend time learning about all members of the organization. The run of injuries has given him a chance to do that.
"You have to give them credit because they've been asked to play roles they don't normally play," he said. "The difference-makers in our team have also stepped up. That can't be forgotten. Our goaltending, our goalscorer, (Josh Morrissey) - they're the difference-makers in the game, and we're missing lot of pieces that help those diference-makers.
"It's just as important as the role players that have stepped up. That can't be forgotten, because we're not sitting here where we are without both those contributions."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
The Jets play 15 games in 28 days from January 2-30, but open the month with two games in the first seven days. Seven of the 15 games are at home.
Winnipeg is 7-4-1 against the Pacific Division this season. Winnipeg's in the midst of playing four of five games against the Pacific Division this season, while Mark Scheifele has 11 goals in 12 games.
Kyle Connor (5G, 10A) and Josh Morrissey (1G, 9A) are both riding an eight-game home point streak. They are two of the eight active home point streaks of eight games or longer in the NHL right now.
Kyle Connor's two points on Saturday has propelled him into the team scoring lead with 43 points (16G, 27A) in 37 games. He also led the Jets last season with 93 points (47G, 46A) in 79 games.
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