GAME DAY: Jets open short home stand vs. Ducks

The Jets have won two in a row overall, and each of their last three at home coming into tonight's tilt.
In their last outing, the Jets rallied back from a 3-1 deficit in New Jersey to beat the Devils. The line of Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler combined for four points in the 4-3 shootout win.
"I think we went out there and played a simple game…We did that as a team and as a line. That's something we have to build on now," said Ehlers, who scored his 23rd of the season in the win.
That line will have the chance to build on that success, as they were kept together at this morning's skate, as well all other forward lines and defensive pairings from the win over the Devils.
Discipline will be key for both teams tonight. Both Anaheim and Winnipeg rank in the top five of penalties taken this season. The Ducks are second with 337, while the Jets are in fourth with 335.

"It's a huge focus for us," Maurice said of discipline and stick penalties. "We've focused real hard on getting out of the stick penalties that we've had. We took two in New Jersey that we didn't like.
"Prior to that, the four penalties prior to that weren't stick penalties. We fired one into the stands and we had three net battles that we won, the opponent went down, and we got a call on that. We can live with those. Those happen all the time."
The Jets power play has taken advantage of its opportunities over the past eight games. Since Mar. 13, the team is clipping along at 28.6 per cent on the man advantage, good enough for fourth in the NHL in that time frame.
Even though the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday, Lowry says the team isn't taking the last five games of the regular season lightly. That starts tonight against the Ducks, who lead the Pacific Division with a 42-23-11 record.

"Being eliminated is one thing, but there's still valuable experience you can get from these games, and still some crucial things you can work on," said Lowry. "In the long run it can be beneficial, we're not trying to waste these last five here. We're trying to get the most out of them. We're disappointed with where we're at, but with that being said, you're not going to see anyone in this room quit."
Michael Hutchinson starts in goal for the Jets tonight, while Jonathan Bernier counters for the Ducks.
LATE HITS
Ben Chiarot took part in today's morning skate as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury.
Maurice said the defenceman is still day-to-day.
"We're going to make sure, with the year he's had with injuries, we want to really make sure he's absolutely 100 per cent," said Maurice. "So we have to get into some real hard tugs here in the next couple of days before he gets back in."

The news wasn't as good for Toby Enstrom, who has been out with a concussion since the hit from Tom Sestito back on Mar. 8. Today, Maurice announced the veteran had surgery on his knee, the same one that was operated on earlier this season.
"He came off the surgery, played Mar. 3 against St. Louis and blocked a shot on his knee. He played five games on it, but we were pulling a lot of blood on that knee," said Maurice. "With the concussion from the hit while he was off ice it would settle down. It did, he cleared his neurological testing, we got him back on the ice, and it got bad right away again. He had that done this morning. It went well. He's 4-6 (weeks) on that one for sure."

POOLMAN SIGNS
Shortly after the morning skate, the Winnipeg Jets announced they had signed Tucker Poolman to a one-year, entry-level contract worth $1,775,000.
The 23-year-old Poolman was drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Draft, and has played with the University of North Dakota the last three seasons. After winning an NCAA national championship with UND in 2015-2016, Poolman finished this season with the National College Hockey Conference Defensive Defenceman of the Year Award.
He had seven goals and 30 points with 38 games with UND in 2016-2017, and will now undergo bi-lateral shoulder surgery, with the first procedure coming this week.
- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
JETS GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets play the first of two games in three days at MTS Centre tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, who are making their second trip to Winnipeg this season…The Jets defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in a shootout Tuesday night for their second consecutive win and fifth win in their last seven games…Blake Wheeler had two points (1g, 1a) against the Devils, while Patrik Laine scored the winner in the shootout…The Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Tuesday and have won six in a row…The Jets host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday in their second-to-last home game of the season.
Drawing Calls
The Jets lead the NHL in March with 50 power play opportunities and 82:59 power play TOI in 13 games…Winnipeg has scored 11 power play goals this month, going 22% on the power play, which is 11th in the NHL…The Jets have drawn 12 more penalties than they have taken at even strength in March, which is tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for the league lead.
Pacific Blues
Tonight is the fourth time in five games the Jets play against a Pacific Division team…The Jets are 6-13-1 against Pacific Division teams this season and have yet to beat one of the three teams in the division currently holding a divisional playoff spot - Anaheim, San Jose and Edmonton (0-8-0)…Last season, the Jets went 12-8-1 against Pacific Division opponents.
Special Teams Notes
- The Jets are 8-for-28 (28.6%) on the power play in their last eight games.
- The Jets are a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill in their last three games.
- Winnipeg has been shorthanded the most in the NHL this season at 263 times.
- The Jets have been shorthanded 87 times in the third period this season, which is the most in the league.
Wheels Up
Captain Blake Wheeler is on a three-game point streak (1g, 4a) and two-game multi-point game streak (1g, 3a)…He has 13 multi-point games this season, including four in his last six games…With 68 points (23g, 45a) this season, Wheeler is two points away from reaching 70 points in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his career…Since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg in 2011, Wheeler leads the team in scoring with 381 points (139g, 242a) in 448 games and is the only player to surpass 300 points since that time.
Draw Master
Bryan Little went 14-for-17 (82.4%) in the face-off circle on Tuesday against New Jersey…It's the second time this season he's taken at least 15 face offs and won 80% or more - the other was Mar. 11 vs. CGY when he went 12-for-15.
Hutch is Hot
Goaltender Michael Hutchinson is 3-1-0 with a .951 save percentage in his last four games, three of which have been starts…It's the first time this season he's allowed two goals or less in four consecutive appearances.
Scheifs Stays Hot
With an assist on Tuesday against New Jersey, Mark Scheifele has a point in 15 of his last 19 games (4g, 20a)…The assist was his 77th point of the season, which moves him one point behind Blake Wheeler, who had 78 points last season, for the most points in a season by a Jets player since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season…Vyacheslav Kozlov's 80 points during the 2006-07 season is the last time in franchise history a player reached 80 points in a season.
Jets vs. Ducks All-Time Records
Overall: 9-12-4
At MTS Centre: 1-3-2