Preview: Jets at Kings

JETS (20-22-3) at KINGS (21-17-4)
10 p.m. ET; SN, FS-W, NHL.TV

Jets team scope

The Winnipeg Jets began Saturday trailing the Los Angeles Kings by three points (with the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars between them) for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Jets began a three-game road trip with a 4-3 loss at the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. Coach Paul Maurice held a closed-door meeting with Winnipeg's leadership group after the game. "It's important that that happens," Maurice said Friday. "At the end of it, they're in this together. So it's important that they stay together. You don't want an empty room. You can have a tough loss and that room gets emptied. But when you have a tough loss, you need that room to stay together." Maurice is looking for the Jets to limit quality scoring chances moving forward. "We gave up 14 chances in that game, seven of them in the first period," he said. "We're going to have to find a way to get that to 10." Forward Shawn Matthias will play in his 500th NHL game and Adam Lowry will play in his 200th.

Kings team scope

The Los Angeles Kings have scored 13 goals in their past three games after scoring nine goals in their previous six. Their 5-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Friday marked the first time the Kings scored five goals in a game since a 7-0 victory at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 8. "We were dropping in the standings," defenseman Jake Muzzin told the Los Angeles Times, "and it's time to put a roll together here. So it's a good start. One reason for the improved offense is better play in the neutral zone, forward Tanner Pearson said. "We're not a very good hockey club when we're slow in our zone and having to get the puck going north," Pearson said Saturday. "When we're good, we're a good rush team and we create chances off the rush." Goaltender Peter Budaj, 4-1-0 with 12 goals allowed in his past five games, will start.

Jets projected lineup

Mathieu Perreault -- Bryan Little -- Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Mark Scheifele -- Drew Stafford
Shawn Matthias -- Adam Lowry -- Joel Armia
Andrew Copp -- Nic Petan -- Chris Thorburn
Josh Morrissey -- Dustin Byfuglien
Toby Enstrom -- Jacob Trouba
Mark Stuart -- Paul Postma
Michael Hutchinson
Connor Hellebuyck
Scratched:Brandon Tanev, Julian Melchiori
Injured:Tyler Myers (lower body), Marko Dano (leg), Patrik Laine (concussion), Ben Chiarot (illness)

Kings projected lineup

Marian Gaborik -- Anze Kopitar -- Trevor Lewis
Tanner Pearson -- Jeff Carter -- Dustin Brown
Kyle Clifford -- Nic Dowd -- Devin Setoguchi
Dwight King -- Nicholas Shore -- Jordan Nolan
Derek Forbort -- Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin -- Alec Martinez
Brayden McNabb -- Matt Greene
Peter Budaj
Jeff Zatkoff
Scratched:Andy Andreoff, Kevin Gravel, Tom Gilbert
Injured:Jonathan Quick (groin), Tyler Toffoli (lower-body)

Status report

The Kings held an optional morning skate Saturday. … The Jets did not skate Saturday, on the second half of a back-to-back. … Hutchinson is expected to start, but there has been no confirmation from Maurice.

Who's hot

Ehlers has 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in his past 12 games. … Wheeler has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in his past 13 games. … Scheifele has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past seven games. … Wheeler has four points (two goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak. … Carter has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games. … Pearson has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past 10 games. … Doughty has five points (one goal, four assists) in a three-game point streak. … Kopitar has four points (one goal, three assists) in a three-game point streak.