The Flames are coming off their first win of the exhibition schedule on Wednesday when they departed the West Coast with a 4-1 verdict over the Vancouver Canucks. Matthew Phillips, Spencer Foo, Andrew Mangiapane and Juuso Valimaki supplied the offence, while David Rittich and Tyler Parsons combined for 38 saves in the victory.
[Related: Projected Flames Lineup vs. Jets]
Winnipeg, meanwhile, fell by a 7-3 score last night to the Edmonton Oilers, who iced a veteran lineup that will closely resemble their opening-night roster. The Jets were without their Top 10 scorers from a year ago, leaving them all back in the Manitoba capital for tonight's encounter at Bell MTS Place.
The Jets' top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and captain Blake Wheeler will see its first action of the pre-season - as will No. 1 goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who went 44-11-9 last year, along with a .924 save percentage and a .236 goals-against average.
Veterans Bryan Little, Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine, Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers and Mathieu Perreault will all be dressing for the Jets as well.
The Flames will counter with their pre-season leading scorer, Dillon Dube, centering a line with Andrew Mangiapane and Buddy Robinson to highlight their roster.
"You've got to keep an even keel," said Dube, who has four points (3G, 1A) in two pre-season games, and acknowledges he's making a case for full-time work.
"That's hard, obviously, but when you come to a camp like this, you have to expect to do well. That's all that matters right now, is trying to build every single game."
Robinson, who's making his return to Winnipeg after playing with the AHL's Manitoba Moose last year, has had this one circled on his calendar for some time.
"I messaged a few of the fellas last night and some of the guys that I played with last year are going to be in the lineup tonight, so it'll be fun," he said.
"I like going to that rink. Good ice, good fans. I'm looking forward to it.
"This is going to be a big challenge for our group, but we've been together for a little while and we're feeling pretty good. Getting that win the other day in Vancouver was huge and has given us a shot a confidence. We're really starting to nail down some of the system stuff that we've been practicing and I think we'll see even more progress with it tonight."
This is, in all likelihood, the final look many of the Flames' youngsters will get before the roster is trimmed down from the 51 currently in camp.
Since arriving home from China late Wednesday, and after getting first-hand reports from Stockton bench boss Cail MacLean over the past 10 days, Head coach Bill Peters will get right back to work and make his North American debut behind the Flames' bench.
This is the first of four games in five nights for the Flames, will play host to the Canucks, Jets and San Jose Sharks all in the next 96 hours.
