Thomas' Five Storylines - WPG @ BUF

NO CONNOR OR SCHMIDT
As the Jets begin their two-game road trip tonight in Buffalo, they will be without leading scorer Kyle Connor and defenceman Nate Schmidt. Both players have entered COVID protocol and won't be available for tonight's game, tomorrow night in Toronto and Saturday's home game against Los Angeles. Connor was the only Jet to have played in all 67 contests so far this season, Schmidt had only missed one game. Connor is tied for sixth in the NHL with 82 points and is fifth in the league with 41 goals. Schmidt is the teams leader in points by a defenceman with 31.
STANLEY AND BROOKS IN
With the news that Connor and Schmidt are out this evening, interim head coach Dave Lowry brings in forward Adam Brooks and defenceman Logan Stanley. Brooks will play on the fourth line with Jansen Harkins and Dominic Toninato, Stanley will skate with Brendan Dillon who will play the right side. Other changes up front include Evgeny Svechnikov on the left side of Pierre-Luc Dubois and Blake Wheeler on the second line. Ville Heinola will pair up with Neal Pionk on the blue line.

HEINOLA SOLID GAME
Ville Heinola played a solid game in the Jets win over Arizona on Sunday. The Finnish defenceman played 15:28 against the Coyotes and recorded an assist, one hit and three blocked shots. Heinola has one assist in the last three games he has appeared in and tonight will be his 10th game of the campaign. With Schmidt not in the lineup tonight, the 2019 first round pick will get some power play time on the second unit alongside Neal Pionk.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING
The Jets didn't get any help from the Anaheim Ducks last night as Dallas knocked them off 3-2 on Tuesday night, moving them three points ahead of Winnipeg for the final wild card spot. Tonight, Vegas is in Seattle, and they are two points up on the Jets and Vancouver is also in action hosting St. Louis. The Canucks are a couple points back of the Jets.
SABRES TURNAROUND
The Sabres enter tonight's game with at least a point in each of their last six games (4-0-2) for the first time since Oct. 3 to Oct. 14, 2019 (5-0-1). With a point tonight, Buffalo would own its first seven-game point streak since the team won 10 games in a row from Nov. 8 to 27, 2018. The team also recorded a point in eight straight games (7-0-1) spanning two seasons. That streak included the last two games of 2018-19 and the first six games of the 2019-20 season.