GAME DAY: Jets look for third straight win tonight vs. Panthers

Be sure to catch the JetsTV Live Pre-Game Show with Jamie Thomas, Mitchell Clinton & more beginning at 6:00pm CT right here on WinnipegJets.com and the Jets mobile app, as well as YouTube and Facebook Live.
WINNIPEG - Two teams looking to extend their respective win streaks face off tonight at Bell MTS Place, as the Winnipeg Jets (34-15-9) host the Florida Panthers in the ninth game of a 10-game home stand.
Both the Jets and Panthers (26-23-6) have won their last two outings. Going back even further, Florida has picked up victories in seven of their last eight, including a 6-3 win over the Flames last night in Calgary.
But despite the offensive contributions from players like Vincent Trocheck - who has four goals in the last three games, head coach Paul Maurice thinks the improvement in the Panthers has come on the other side of the rink.
"Their defensive metrics have shifted," said Maurice. "Offensively they're a pretty powerful team. They put up close to 35 shots a night. Prior to the All-Star Break they had given up a fair amount. They've tightened that up. They're still scoring, they're still feeling confident, but they've played well defensively."

The Jets held practice yesterday after Friday's 6-1 win over the Avalanche. Winnipeg had goals at even strength, a shorthanded marker, and went 2-for-5 on the power play as well.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored his 22nd in the win, and while the win gave the team confidence, he knows his team faces a different challenge in the Panthers.
"It won't be easy. They're a skilled team, a fast-playing team," said Ehlers. "We have to play the same way we played last game. We have to play hard, and play fast, and get the pucks deep and get them running around in their D-zone."
Along with scoring in all situations against the Avalanche, the Jets penalty kill was 5-for-5, and has quietly moved up the league standings to fourth, just a tenth of a percentage point behind the Los Angeles Kings for third.
"We're recognizing the situations where we can pressure teams in the zone, and get on them and get clears," said Dmitry Kulikov. "Obviously our goalie is really playing well on the penalty kill. If your goalie is your best penalty killer, if he's making stops and making us feel confident that we can give up some certain shots, it gives us all confidence to play a stronger game on the penalty kill."
Connor Hellebuyck didn't take the morning skate, but Maurice indicated at the end of practice on Saturday that the 24-year-old will get the start tonight against Florida.
The line rushes used in yesterday's practice looked like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Perreault-Little-Roslovic
Ehlers-Copp-Laine
Petan-Hendricks-Armia
Morrissey-Myers
Poolman-Byfuglien
Chiarot-Kulikov
Sitting 5-2-1 so far on the 10-game home stand, and tied with Nashville atop the Central Division standings, the Jets are looking to avenge a 6-4 loss to the Panthers back on Dec. 7 at BB&T Center.
"We just try to focus on our game more than any team that comes in, we know we can beat anybody," said Kulikov. "If we come out and put our best effort into every game, I think we can beat any team, no matter who comes into our building. In my opinion, it's the toughest place to play in the NHL, and we've proven that over the year."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
ICE CHIPS
Brandon Tanev and Shawn Matthias skated with the main group during today's pre-game skate, as they continue to work their way back from injuries.
Matthias has missed 13 games with an upper-body injury, while Tanev has missed five games with an upper-body ailment of his own. Maurice says both players are close to getting out of non-contact jerseys.
In addition, both Steve Mason and Michael Hutchinson were on the ice as well, as they continue to recover from concussions.
"They're both facing shots now. They'll continue along that," said Maurice. "They'll be tested at some point this week to get at least back into full practice mode."
- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
JETS GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets welcome the Florida Panthers to Bell MTS Place tonight for the only time this season in the penultimate game of a 10-game homestand...The Jets defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-1 on Friday to improve to 5-2-1 during this stretch at home...After tonight's game, the Jets close out the homestand Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Kings.
Jets vs. Panthers Notes
- The Jets are 7-7-0 against the Panthers since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg.
- The Jets are 1-for-14 (7.1%) on the power play in their last four games against the Panthers.
- Winnipeg has won six of the last seven games against Florida at Bell MTS Place.
Facing the East
The Jets are 10-6-5 against the Eastern Conference this season, including a 4-3-3 record versus the Atlantic Division...Winnipeg has won five of their last six games against Eastern Conference teams...Blake Wheeler leads the Jets with 27 points (8G, 19A) in 21 games against the Eastern Conference, which is tied for fifth among Western Conference players.
Home Cookin'
The Jets improved to 22-5-2 at home this season with Friday's win...The Jets are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins (22-7-1) for the most wins on home ice this season...Winnipeg is two wins shy of tying the franchise mark for most home wins in a season, which was accomplished by the 2005-06 Atlanta Thrashers...The 2005-06 Thrashers needed all 41 home games to set that mark, while the Jets could match it in as few as 31 games with victories tonight and Tuesday.
Six-cess
The Jets tallied six goals or more for the sixth time this season in Friday's win...Four of the six occurrences have come at Bell MTS Place...Winnipeg is second in the NHL this season with 108 goals scored at home for a league-leading average of 3.72 goals per game.
Killing It
Through the first eight games of the homestand, the Jets have successfully killed off 22 of the 24 (91.7%) power play opportunities they've allowed...The Jets have killed off 16 consecutive power plays against and are 17-for-18 (94.4%) on the penalty kill in their last six games...Winnipeg has risen to a tie for third in the NHL this season with an 83.3% success rate on the penalty kill...At home, the Jets are tied for fourth in the NHL on the penalty kill at 86.8%.
The (Bell MTS) Place to Be
Tonight is the ninth game of a 10-game homestand for the Jets, the longest run of consecutive games on home ice in the history of the Jets/Thrashers franchise...Before this 10-game stretch at home, the longest homestand for the club was eight games from Feb. 17-Mar. 12/12 where the Jets went 5-1-2... This is one of just two times this season that the Jets are home for more than three straight games at home (six games from Mar. 15-27).
30 for Helle
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck reached 30 wins with Friday's win, improving to 30-8-8 on the season...He joins Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy as the only two goaltenders in the NHL to reach 30 wins this season...Hellebuyck is also just the second goaltender in franchise history to post 30 wins in a season, joining Kari Lehtonen, who had a franchise record 34 wins during the 2006-07 season.
Set Up Scheifele
Mark Schiefele tallied three assists on Friday for his second consecutive three-point game...He has seven points (2G, 4A) in the four games since he returned from injury...He racked up the three assists in a season-low 17:01 of ice time (aside from Dec. 27/17 when he was injured)...Friday was his eighth three-point game of the season, which is a career high.
Wheeling and Dealing
Captain Blake Wheeler ended a 15-game goalless drought by scoring twice on Friday...It was his longest in-season goalless streak since Jan. 13/11-Feb. 15/11...He also registered his 48th assist of the season on Friday, which matches his assist total from last season...He sits tied for third in the NHL in assists...He's four assists away from matching his career high of 52 assists from the 2015- 16 season...Wheeler is on pace for 67 assists this season, which would be two shy of Marc Savard's franchise record 69 assists set during the 2005-06 season.
Homestand Leaders
Blake Wheeler (2G, 8A) leads the Jets during the homestand with 10 points in eight games...Dustin Byfuglien (1G, 7A) has eight points, while Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine lead the way with four goals apiece...Rookie Jack Roslovic has a team high plus-4 during the homestand and also has four points, including the first two assists of his NHL career.
Jets vs. Panthers All-Time Records
Overall: 47-28-13
At Bell MTS Place: 6-2-1
At BB&T Center: 22-18-5