Busy preseason schedule influencing Maurice's line-up decisions

WINNIPEG - Preseason is about to pick up for the Winnipeg Jets.
So far, the team has played one game since training camp opened five days ago.
Over the course of eight days, the Jets will play six times - three sets of back-to-backs - to wrap up the preseason schedule.
It all begins tomorrow night in Edmonton, where Eric Comrie will get the start in goal.
Head coach Paul Maurice has put a lot of thought into how he'll navigate this busy stretch line-up wise.
"What we won't do this year is the last game against New Jersey won't be our full team. We always tried to time that," said Maurice, showing evidence of how the schedule has already changed plans from previous seasons.

Adam Lowry's line with Andrew Copp and Brandon Tanev will see their first preseason action tomorrow night in Edmonton, with Jack Roslovic's line (minus Mathieu Perreault) getting their second game.
Lowry can't wait to get back on the ice with the two line mates he teamed up with to shut down the opposition's best with last season.
"Building off what we were able to last year, it's nice going in and knowing you have chemistry with those guys, and knowing you have the trust in both of them and what you're trusted to do on the ice," said Lowry. "You can get used to making those reads and making those plays right away. It definitely helps."
Based on what he's seen in camp, Maurice feels that trio can get even better. He's observed Copp's increased speed in camp, and also believes both Lowry and Tanev's games have become more defined.
"They've got confidence they can score, maybe a different style of goal, they'll take them either way," said Maurice. "But they do have priority one, they have a lot of respect for going out there and keeping the other guys off the scoresheet."

Also in the line-up against Edmonton will be Logan Stanley and Sami Niku. Stanley played 17:38 against Minnesota in his second career preseason game, while Niku - who made his NHL debut last season against Montreal - played 19:07 and registered an assist on the game's opening goal.
"They're very probably both going to play for us at some time. They have to go down. For Logan it's his first year pro. When he makes himself available to come back up, we'll see. Sami is now a guy that's on the radar as a call-up guy, so we need them in these games," said Maurice, citing the team's depth on the blue line has been tested in previous seasons.
"We have eight guys that you know have played in the NHL, and we know that hasn't been nearly enough bodies for us. We've gone five deep into our American League system. We need to learn about those two players, and we also need to get them as much time as we possibly can."
After Thursday's game against Edmonton, the Jets are back on the ice the next night against the Calgary Flames.
"We'll come back with probably Scheifele and Little in that next game, so we can get one of our power play units some time on the ice," said Maurice. "Then you'll have Lowry and Roslovic in that other group, then we'll build the lines out there."
ICE CHIPS
Three players didn't skate with the main group this morning at Bell MTS Iceplex.
Nic Petan asked for a personal leave of absence to deal with a family situation, and Maurice said there is no real timetable for a return.
Dmitry Kulikov and Dustin Byfuglien were also no on the ice with "minor ailments" according to Maurice.
"We would hope we may see them all tomorrow or the next day," said Maurice. "In Dmitry's case, we knew around day four or five we would pull him from a day and get him back out tomorrow."