GAME DAY: Jets at Canadiens

MONTREAL, Quebec - Paul Maurice has always liked a lively bench - with Dustin Byfuglien returning to the Winnipeg Jets line-up tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, he knows that's exactly what he'll get.
"When he's in our room, everybody has more fun. There are better chirps," the Jets head coach said. "He's pretty reserved outside, but very easy-going. Casual isn't the right word, but comfortable around the room.
"He's the perfect guy to have in your locker room if you're struggling a little bit because he can keep it a little bit light and keep it fun for the team. We've missed him."

Byfuglien has missed the last 15 games with a lower-body injury he sustained on Dec. 29 against the Minnesota Wild.
His return comes at a good time, as Josh Morrissey will not play in the season's first match-up against the Canadiens. He blocked a shot in the first period of the 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday and - despite his best efforts - won't be ready to go tonight.
"We're really expecting him to be available for Ottawa. We're real hopeful of that," said Maurice. "He put a real good press on to try and get into the game. But we have Dustin coming back here today, we're healthy. The foundation of Josh's game is skating so we don't want to put him in a position where he's not even at 90 per cent before he gets back into the line-up."
The Jets didn't do any line rushes as part of their morning skate at the Bell Centre, so Byfuglien's partner on the blue line is still in question. Maurice did say however that Joe Morrow - who played 38 games for the Canadiens in 2017-18 before being traded to Winnipeg - will remain in the line-up on the back end.

Throughout the games Byfuglien missed on the back end, either Morrissey or Jacob Trouba played on the point as part of the power play unit with Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Patrik Laine.
But the Jets are throwing a bit of a wrinkle into their power play units for tonight's tilt with the Canadiens.
Byfuglien will return to his normal spot, but Laine will move to Bryan Little's unit with Mathieu Perreault, Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba. Jack Roslovic, who has five power play goals in five games since the player break, will switch to Wheeler's unit.
"He's hot. It's coming off his stick right. We think there is going to be some action around the net a little bit," said Maurice. "These guys do a nice job at times of taking away the perimeter shot. We think there will be a little more action at the net and he's been good there."
While tonight's game marks the beginning of a three-game road trip through the Atlantic Division for the Jets, it's the fourth game in a five-game home stand for the Canadiens who have gone 2-0-1 since coming out of the player break.
Montreal has eight skaters with double-digit goals this season - the second most in the NHL behind the Toronto Maple Leafs - and currently holds the top wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with a 30-18-6 record.

After back-to-back games against the Pacific Division, the Jets know there will be a bit of an adjustment going against an Eastern Conference opponent.
"We know what our game plan is and we know what to expect out of ourselves," said Mark Scheifele. "We have to be ready for a fast game and it's going to be tough."
Both meetings between the Jets and Canadiens went to overtime last season, with the visiting team picking up the win both times.
For the Jets, it was Kyle Connor that was the hero last season. He expects a lot of speed from the Canadiens, who beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Tuesday.
"We haven't seen them much so we'll get a bit of pre-scout here in video on some technical stuff. We expect a hard-working team," said Connor. "They're a young team and they're hungry. Those teams are dangerous. We know we'll have to bring our best."
Connor Hellebuyck will get the start in goal with puck drop set for 6:30 pm CT.
--Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Today's Game
The Winnipeg Jets begin a three-game road trip through the Atlantic Division tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens...The Jets lost 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks in overtime on Tuesday, but still went 2-0-1 during a three-game homestand...Winnipeg continues the road trip on Saturday afternoon against the Ottawa Senators.
On the Road Again
The Jets are 14-10-0 on the road this season...Winnipeg went 2-4 on the road in January, but are 10-5-0 in their past 15 games away from Bell MTS Place...Winnipeg hasn't lost three consecutive road games in regulation since Dec. 10-20/16...The Jets are two-for-five on the power play in their past two road games....Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in scoring on the road this season with 24 points (3G, 21A) in 24 games, while Patrik Laine has a team-leading 16 goals in 24 games.
Busy Time
The Jets are in a stretch of 11 games (3-1-1) in 20 days...Winnipeg went 6-3-0 in nine games in 16 days leading into the break...The Jets are in the midst of playing their last 34 games of the regular season in 69 days.
Eastbound and Rolling
The Jets are 13-6-1 against Eastern Conference teams this season, including 5-3-1 against the Atlantic Division...Winnipeg is in a stretch of seven of nine games against Eastern Conference teams...Winnipeg went 19-7-6 against the Eastern Conference last season, including a 10-3-3 record versus the Atlantic Division and 9-4-3 record against the Metropolitan Division...Blake Wheeler leads the Jets with 25 points (2G, 23A) in 19 games against the Eastern Conference, while Mark Scheifele has 23 points (12G, 11A) in 19 games.
As the Offence Goes...
Winnipeg has scored four goals or more in 10 consecutive victories and in 16 of their past 17 wins...The Jets are averaging 4.6 goals per game in wins this season, which is the second most in the NHL...Meanwhile, the Jets have been limited to two goals or less in nine consecutive losses and have been outscored 29-10 in those games...Of the 53 games the Jets have played this season, 32 have been decided by two goals or more.
Terrific Trouba
Defenceman Jacob Trouba notched his 25th assist of the season on Tuesday to match a career high for assists in a season (2016-17)...He has an assist in three consecutive games (5A) and 13 assists in 15 games since Dec. 31/18...Trouba sits tied for fourth in NHL scoring among defencemen since Dec. 31 with 14 points...He played a career high 7:48 on the power play on Tuesday.
VIEW THE FULL GAME NOTES
Drawmaster
Adam Lowry has won 50% or more of his faceoffs in four of his five games since the all-star break (35-for-59, 59.3%)...He won 8-of-10 faceoffs against the Sharks on Tuesday, marking the third time this season he took at least 10 faceoffs in a game and lost three or less...Lowry is sixth in the NHL this season with a 57.0% faceoff winning percentage.
Roslovic First Star
The NHL named Jets forward Jack Roslovic the league's first star of the week on Monday...Roslovic opened the week with a goal in Winnipeg's 3-1 setback to Philadelphia on Monday...On Thursday, the Columbus, Ohio native scored again in the Jets' 4-3 come from behind win over his hometown Blue Jackets...On Saturday, Roslovic recorded his first career hat trick and four-point (3G, 1A) game in Winnipeg's 9-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks...Roslovic's trio of goals were all on the power play, as he was the first Jets/Thrashers player to tally three PPGs in a game since Ilya Kovalachuk did it on Nov. 6/06...Roslovic scored the three goals in 2:20 of power play ice time, which is the third fewest PP TOI to score three or more power play goals since the NHL started to record time on ice...Roslovic led the NHL with five goals this week and was tied for the most points (6)...This is the first time in his career that Roslovic has been selected in the NHL's Three Stars of the Week...He is the sixth Jets player to be selected in 2018-19 after Winnipeg had eight appearances in the Three Stars of the Week last season...Roslovic joins Mark Scheifele (Dec. 17 - Second Star, Dec. 3 - First Star, and Oct. 29 - Second Star), Patrik Laine (Nov. 26 - First Star) and Blake Wheeler (Nov. 12 - Second Star) as members of the Jets that have earned NHL Three Stars of the Week honours this season.