GAME DAY: Jets at Kings

LOS ANGELES, California -With wins in five straight games, the Winnipeg Jets open a three-game road trip tonight against the Pacific Division's last-place team, the Los Angeles Kings.
But that spot in the standings means nothing to Jets head coach Paul Maurice.
In fact, neither do the last four games the Kings have played, where they've gone 0-2-2.
"We don't spend a whole lot of time worrying about how they've played in their last two games. It's 'what is this team capable of?' They're still really strong along the walls," said Maurice. "They're angry when they play now. They're frustrated. It's no different than the game in Chicago for us. You have Stanley Cup champions who aren't happy with where they're at. They're going to push real hard and give you all you can handle."

That method of preparation has been a big part of the Jets coming out on the winning side of nine out of the last 10 games.
The only thing that did change in the team's preparation on Tuesday was that the team didn't hold a morning skate. Part of that is the Jets are in the middle of a stretch that sees them play nine games in 16 days.
"We'll face in the second half where we have to travel on our off day because we're coming back from the west," said Maurice. "There were times in the past that we played an afternoon game - one of them was actually against LA at home.
"We want to be able to not have this event be the first time you face it if it happens later in the year when you're in divisional games and you're fighting for those points."
There will be no changes to the Jets line-up from the one that produced the 5-4 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, with Connor Hellebuyck getting his 26th start of the season.
Ehlers-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Little-Laine
Perreault-Lowry-Tanev
Lemieux-Roslovic-Appleton
Morrissey-Trouba
Chiarot-Byfuglien
Kulikov-Myers
For Adam Lowry, games against the Kings are always special. He was able to have dinner with his parents who live nearby, with his father Dave serving as an assistant coach for the Kings.

Lowry said he keeps an eye on the Kings (11-20-3), and while they're not where they'd like to be in the standings, they're still a dangerous opponent.
"They've missed a lot of guys at various times. Anytime your goalie is out for an extended period of time, you lose your back-up, that's going to hurt," said Lowry, adding the Kings are still banged up with Ilya Kovalchuk and Alec Martinez out of the line-up.
"They still have a lot of real good players and some real good pieces over there… You have to be ready to play an NHL game. They're not just going to gift you two points. They have a lot of weapons that can hurt you."
At 22-9-2, the Jets are tied with the Nashville Predators for the Central Division lead, holding a game in hand. One of those 22 wins came back on Oct. 9 against the Kings at Bell MTS Place, with Mark Scheifele scoring his first of the season in that game.

Scheifele was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on Monday, following his back-to-back overtime winners and 11 points in four games. Scheifele is one of five Jets that has a five-game point streak coming into tonight's tilt with the Kings, a list that includes line mate and Jets captain, Blake Wheeler.
"I know coming in he always had a pretty wicked release," Wheeler said of Scheifele. "It's something he's worked on over time. That's a skill that comes naturally for him. He shoots the puck as well as anyone.
"It's impressive how little space he needs. You can see with our real good goal scorers just how quick they can get open, the tiny little space they need to get a shot off. That's the difference."
Puck drop is set for 9:30 pm CT.
ICE CHIPS
Andrew Copp made the trip to Los Angeles but will not play tonight.
"He's feeling good and skating," said Maurice. "We'll just be real cautious with this before he gets into bumping. But he'll start light contact."
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets begin a three-game road trip tonight against the Los Angeles Kings...The Jets defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 in overtime on Sunday to extend their winning streak to five games...Winnipeg continues its road trip Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.
Gone Streaking
The Jets have won five games in a row, which is their longest winning streak of the season...It's Winnipeg's longest winning streak since winning six consecutive game from Mar. 15-27/18...During the last two seasons the Jets have had six winning streaks of four games or more.
Working Overtime
The Jets have won three consecutive games in overtime to improve their record to 5-1 in games decided in overtime this season...Winnipeg is also 6-2 in games decided in overtime or a shootout...During the Jets current 9-1 stretch, five of the nine wins have come in overtime or a shootout...Winnipeg set a franchise record last season with four consecutive overtime or shootout wins from Mar. 20-27...Mark Scheifele scored his third overtime winner of the season on Sunday and second in as many games, joining Kyle Connor as the only two players in franchise history that have scored overtime winning goals in back-to-back games...Scheifele has factored in all five overtime goals the Jets have scored this season with three goals and two assists...Scheifele has tied the franchise record for most overtime points in a season (Marian Hossa - 2006-07; Dustin Byfuglien - 2010-11)...Scheifele's seven career overtime goals is tied for second in franchise history with Byfuglien, while his 13 overtime points are fourth.
In Bunches
The Jets have scored four goals or more in five consecutive games and eight of their last 10 contests...Winnipeg has scored 120 goals this season, which is fourth in the NHL...Since a 6-3 win in Vancouver on Nov. 19, the Jets have tallied 65 goals in their last 15 games (11-4-0), which is the most in the NHL...Winnipeg has scored four goals or more in 10 of the 15 games...The Jets hold a plus-27 goal differential this season, which is third in the league.
Wonderful Time of Year
The Jets have posted an 8-1-0 record in December to climb into a tie for first place in the Western Conference...Winnipeg ranks in the top five of several categories this month, including the most wins.
Party in the Pacific
The Jets are 5-1-1 against Pacific Division opponents this season...Winnipeg was a dominant 17-4-2 against Pacific Division foes last season and are on a 16-2-3 run in their last 21 games versus the Pacific...Mark Scheifele (4G, 5A) and Dustin Byfuglien (1G, 8A) lead the Jets in scoring against the Pacific Division this season with nine points each, while Patrik Laine (7G, 1A) and Kyle Connor (2G, 5A) are both averaging a point per game or better through seven games.
On the Road Again
After playing four of their last five games at home, the Jets play five of their next seven games on the road...The Jets have won five consecutive road games, which has matched the franchise record Winnipeg set last year from Feb. 23-Mar. 8/18...The Jets have played just 14 games on the road this season, which is tied for the second fewest in the NHL...Patrik Laine (16G, 1A) and Blake Wheeler (2G, 15A) lead the Jets in scoring on the road with 17 points in 14 games.
VIEW FULL GAME NOTES
Another Star
Mark Scheifele was named the NHL's second star of the week on Monday...He opened the week with a goal and an assist in Winnipeg's 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday...On Thursday, the Kitchener, Ont. native had three points (1G, 2A), including an assist on the winner in the Jets' 5-4 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers...Scheifele scored a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, and added an assist as Winnipeg won in overtime again the following night in Chicago...On Sunday, he had a pair of assists and again tallied the winner in sudden death in a 5-4 come from behind victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning...He's the second player in franchise history to record three-or-more points in three straight games (also Marc Savard from Nov. 9-12/05)...In total last week, he led the league in points with 11 (5G, 6A), and he is currently riding a five-game point streak (5G, 9A) over Winnipeg's five-game winning streak...This is the third time this season (also Dec. 3 - First Star and Oct. 29 - Second Star) and the sixth time in his career that Scheifele has been selected in the NHL's Three Stars of the Week...He is the fifth Jets player to be selected in 2018-19 after Winnipeg had eight appearances in the Three Stars of the Week last season...Scheifele joins 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.
Five Streaks of Five
With 25 goals in their last five games, the Jets have five players with points in five consecutive games...Mark Scheifele leads the way with 14 points in the five games (5G, 9A), while Mathieu Perreault has also scored in each of the last four games...Eight Jets players are averaging a point per game or better in the last five games.