GAMEDAY: Capitals at Jets

WINNIPEG - After their 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, the Winnipeg Jets will look to bounce back and clinch their ticket to the NHL Playoffs on Tuesday when they host the league’s top team in the Washington Capitals. The Jets beat the Capitals 5-4 in overtime in the last meeting between the two teams on February 1.

“Obviously, it was an exciting game. Both teams pride themselves on their defensive and there were a lot of goals, a lot of offence in that one,” said Josh Morrissey who scored the overtime winner in Washington.

“I don’t know that we’ll see the fireworks again or more of a true to form matchup, but I think that just goes to show that when both teams are near the top of the standings, you can play multiple styles of game. Obviously, you have the offence and the defence and the goaltending and special teams. I’m excited to have another match with those guys.”

Make sure to tune into the Jets pregame show "The Check In" at 12:30 CT.

The big news heading into this matchup is the Jets will be playing without Gabe Vilardi for the first time this season, he is out week-to-week with an upper body injury. Alex Iafallo will slot in on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor tonight to start the contest.

“I think that the chemistry that K.C., Scheif and Gabe have had, just kind of being on the same page every time they get into that offensive zone,” said Scott Arniel.

“And so hopefully, like I mentioned, that Al jumps in there and can help just pick that up a little bit."

Vilardi has played in all 71 games this season but only 47 in his first year with the Jets. Since the beginning of the 23/24 campaign, the Jets power play is 26.2% with Vilardi in the lineup and just 15.8% without him. Iafallo will take Vilardi’s spot on the first power play unit which remains on top of the pack in the NHL.

"It's not the right(handed) shot but Al's good around the net front, too. Yeah, we're going to have to tinker a bit in how we do some things,” said Arniel.

“Where Scheif and Gabe were the righty-righties, now we've got the lefties, but we can still do some of the things off the other side but, for tomorrow there, it'll be the look that we have."

Iafallo moving to the top line is not the only change up front for the Jets, Arniel has put Nino Niederreiter with Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers joins Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton.

"They are two guys that are easy to play with," said Ehlers.

"So I think the way that we were able to finish last game, get some pretty big chances there, and get the puck out of our own zone. It's definitely a good start. So we're excited. We're ready to keep building on this line, and that's exciting."

The Jets can clinch a playoff spot with at least one point gained on Tuesday or if the Blues fall to the Canadiens in any fashion the same night. Winnipeg would be the first team in the Western Conference to clinch and join Washington as the second team in the league to punch their postseason ticket.

Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal for the Jets after becoming the first goalie to 40 wins thanks to his win over the Oilers last Thursday. He is 5-5-2 in 12 career starts against the Capitals with a 2.23 goals against average and a .925 save percentage.

Meanwhile, the Capitals arrive in the Manitoba capital with the best record in the NHL and the Gr8 chase continues with Alex Ovechkin seven goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the most goals in NHL history. Nino Niederreiter has seen a lot of Ovechkin over the years especially playing in the east with the Islanders and the Hurricanes.

I think it's great. I mean, obviously whenever you have a chance to be kind of same era with a player like him, it's so much fun,” said Niederreiter.

“He's done a tremendous job over the years, scoring a lot of goals, and it's very fascinating to see.”

Even with the distractions that come with Ovechkin trying to make history, the Capitals coaching staff has done a great job keeping the focus on the team.

“I know that Spencer (Carbery) and his coaching staff, they've talked to their group about it right from the very beginning. The thing about it that, they've done it, they've won a lot of hockey games and Ovi's continued to score,” said Arniel.

“Ovi's playing — it isn't just about scoring goals. He's playing the right way, too. Kind of like '18 when they won the Cup there, he was a big part of playing that way. They're a deep team, they're a big team, and they're getting a lot of contributions from a lot of people in that lineup.”