At the Rink: Jets at Flyers

PHILADELPHIA -- One of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets are entrenched in a Stanley Cup Playoff spot this season is the way they've played after losses.

The Jets won their season opener and then lost four straight. Since then they've lost consecutive games five times, but no losing streak has been longer than two games. They're 13-4-1 after losses.

"I think we've done a good job resetting after losses, not letting them compound," Jets captain Andrew Ladd said. "I think it's just a mindset of rebounding, especially with our battle level and compete, and making sure we're giving ourselves a chance the next game."

The Jets lost 5-3 Tuesday at the Pittsburgh Penguins. They trailed 1-0 after one period and had five shots on goal. They rebounded in the second but allowed three goals in the third period.

"The first period for us, not to make excuses but we weren't as good as we normally like to be," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "Four days off [for the All-Star break] sometimes has an effect on that. After the first period our compete was good, our battle was good, and we played pretty well. There's some systematic things we keep inside the room we want to do better, style of game stuff. And move on."

They'll move on to a game Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, who have won back-to-back games for the first time since Jan. 6-8. But with wins Jan. 20 against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Jan. 27 against the Arizona Coyotes separated by the All-Star break, it's hard to consider it a win streak.

The 4-3 shootout win against the Coyotes, however, has the Flyers feeling some confidence. They trailed 2-0 5:50 into the game but were able to rally. It was their eighth win in 32 games after allowing the first goal.

"Our team showed resiliency in that game," Flyers coach Craig Berube said. "Down 2-0 we got a power-play goal that really got us back in the game. I thought we got into the game after that."

The Flyers beat the Jets 4-3 in overtime Dec. 21, but it's a game that stands out because of the physicality.

"They're a big, fast, physical team," Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds said of the Jets. "I think I got hit more in that game than I got hit in any other game this year. They're a solid team, solid from top to bottom. They play hard, physical hockey. We're going to have come out and match that intensity and we're going to have to play beyond that."

Here are the projected lineups:

JETS

Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Blake Wheeler

Mathieu Perreault - Mark Scheifele - Michael Frolik

Evander Kane - Adam Lowry - Chris Thorburn

Matt Halischuk - Jim slater - Anthony Peluso

Dustin Byfuglien - Ben Chiarot

Toby Enstrom - Zach Bogosian

Mark Stuart - Jacob Trouba

Michael Hutchinson

Ondrej Pavelec

Scratched: Jay Harrison, Paul Postma, Adam Pardy, TJ Galiardi

Injured: Grant Clitsome (upper body)

FLYERS

Brayden Schenn - Claude Giroux - Jakub Voracek

R.J. Umberger - Sean Couturier - Matt Read

Petr Straka - Ryan White - Wayne Simmonds

Chris VandeVelde - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - Vincent Lecavalier

Nick Schultz - Mark Streit

Michael Del Zotto - Luke Schenn

Carlo Colaiacovo - Andrew MacDonald

Steve Mason

Ray Emery

Scratched: None

Suspended: Zac Rinaldo

Injured: Braydon Coburn (lower body), Nicklas Grossmann (upper body), Scott Laughton (concussion), Kimmo Timonen (blood clots), Michael Raffl (illness)

Status update: Maurice said Galiardi has been placed on waivers. ... Stuart returns after missing the past two games because of a lower-body injury. He had played six games before the All-Star break after missing nine, but Maurice said Stuart never was 100 percent. "He played games for us before the break but he didn't keep healing so he plateaued in terms of how he was feeling," Maurice said. "We took that extra time over the break to get him back feeling strong. He's a leader in our room. He defines our attitude in how we want to play." ... Laughton practiced for the first time since sustaining a concussion Jan. 14 against the Washington Capitals. He skated on his own Wednesday and was a full participant Thursday. "I came out here and got another good skate in, and I'll just keep skating," he said. There's a chance he could return Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but more likely is Feb. 5 against the New York Islanders. "Just getting my legs back in it," Laughton said. "Going two and a little bit of weeks not being able to skate, not moving a lot, I'm going to try to get back in the rhythm of things and we'll go from there." ... Grossmann also practiced Thursday but won't play. Saturday is a possibility. He'll miss his ninth straight game Thursday.

Who's hot: Little has six goals and 11 assists in his past 16 games. ... Del Zotto has two goals and three assists during a four-game point streak.

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