GAME DAY: Jets visit Hawks in the second of a three-game road trip
7:30pm CT - TV: TSN3; Radio: TSN 1290
The 26-11-7 Jets remain on top of the Central Division with 59 points on the year, while the Blackhawks find themselves on the outside looking in for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, two points behind Minnesota.
"I think our division overall is so strong that any night, if you're not ready to go, anyone in our division can beat you," said Josh Morrissey. "They're a team that's been on the top of the league for a long time now. I don't think they're slowing down at all."
Marko Dano played for a short time in Chicago before he was traded to the Jets and he understands all the things Winnipeg needs to do to be successful at the United Center.
"They're having some troubles right now, moving the roster around," Dano said of his former team, who recently traded for Anthony Duclair from Arizona. "We're feeling pretty good right now with where we're at. We just have to bring our game, stick to the plan for 60 minutes."
The Jets are not making any changes to their lineup from the game against Buffalo on Tuesday night except that Connor Hellebuyck will be back in net after a night off.
Connor - Wheeler - Laine
Perreault - Little - Ehlers
Matthias - Copp - Armia
Dano - Hendricks - Roslovic
Morrissey - Trouba
Kulikov - Myers
Enstrom - Byfuglien
Hellebuyck
Tonight's game will feature three players from the Central Division All-Star team: Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks and, of course, Blake Wheeler and Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets.
Kane and Wheeler have played on the same team before with the United States at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. The Blackhawks' star paid a real nice compliment to the Jets captain when asked about Wheeler's performance this season.
"He's one of those guys who almost like must-watch TV every night," Kane said. "He's so fast. He has the puck a lot and makes plays. Obviously, the reason they have a lot of success on their power play. It's pretty impressive, especially since (Mark) Scheifele went down, and sometimes you think that might mess up the lineup a bit. It seems like he's picked up his game even more."
Maurice is enjoying the fact that Wheeler is getting recognition from outside of the team's dressing room and fan base.
"He's a dominant force on the ice and a great leader for us."
- Jamie Thomas, WinnipegJets.com
JETS GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets continue a three-game road trip tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks...The Jets started the trip with a 7-4 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday...The trip ends tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild...After their bye week next week, the Jets head out on the road again to play the Calgary Flames on Jan. 20 before returning to Winnipeg the next night to host the Vancouver Canucks.
Jets vs. Blackhawks Notes
- The Jets went 4-1 against the Blackhawks during the 2016-17 season, but have lost back-to-back games against Chicago.
- The Jets are 18-for-19 (94.7%) on the penalty kill in their last six games against Chicago.
- Bryan Little is on a five-game point streak against the Blackhawks with six points (3G, 3A).
- Blake Wheeler has a team-leading 18 points (9g, 9a) in 24 career games against the Blackhawks, while Dustin Byfuglien has 14 points (4g, 10a) in 21 games against the team that drafted him.
Nailing It Down
The Jets are unbeaten in regulation going into the third period when holding the lead with a 21-0-1 record...It's the best record when leading after 40 minutes in the NHL this season...Winnipeg has led going into the third period in 22 of their 44 games this season, which is tied for the third-most in the NHL...The Jets are also 15-1-1 when leading after the first period.
Central Dominance
The Central Division-leading Jets are 7-3-2 against their Central Division foes this season and 26-11-4 dating back to last season...However, the Jets are 2-2-1 in their last five games against the Central.
Back-to-Back
This weekend is the fifth back-to-back set for the Jets this season...Winnipeg plays nine back-to-backs this season, which is the least number of back-to-backs in the NHL...The Jets are 1-2-1 in the first game of back-to-backs and 2-1-1 in the second game...Last season the Jets had 13 back-to-back sets, going 6-6-1 in the first game and 6-5-2 in the second game for an overall record of 12-11-3.
Life on the Road
The Jets are in a stretch of playing six of seven games on the road...Thanks to the bye week and all-star break, the seven games take place over the course of 21 days, which is the lightest stretch of Winnipeg's schedule since playing seven games in 22 days to start the season...The Jets have played 24 road games this season, which tied for the most in the NHL...By the time Winnipeg begins a 10- game homestand on Jan. 30, the Jets will have played 29 road games compared to 21 home games.
Points in Seven
The Jets have a point in seven consecutive games (6-0-1) since the Christmas break and have points in 10 of their last 11 games (8-1-2)...Winnipeg's longest point streak of the season is eight games (5-0-3) from Oct. 20-Nov. 6/17...The Jets have only suffered three losing streaks of two or more games so far this season...In the games following those streak-breaking victories, the Jets have yet to fall back and suffer another loss in regulation, going 6-0-2 in games after ending a losing streak.
Special Special Teams
The Jets power play has a goal in six consecutive games and is chugging along at a 39.1% (9-for-23) success rate in the last six games...Winnipeg has scored two power play goals in three of their last five games...On the penalty kill, the Jets have killed 19 of the last 21 (90.5%) power play opportunities they've allowed.
Seeing Stars
Jets forward Blake Wheeler and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck have been selected to participate in the 2018 NHL All-Star Game as members of the Central Division squad...Wheeler is tied for second in the league in points (52) and assists (38) and he is the only NHLer with three games of four points or more in 2017-18..Hellebuyck is third in the league in wins (23) and tied for fourth in shutouts (3)...Among goaltenders with a minimum of 15 games played, he ranks second in winning percentage (.788), seventh in goals-against average (2.36) and 10th in save percentage (.923)...Wheeler and Hellebuyck are both making their first all-star appearance.
Staying Streaky
Blake Wheeler had two assists on Tuesday to extend his point streak to seven games (5G, 6A)...It's the longest active point streak in the NHL and Wheeler's fourth point streak of three games or more this season...Jacob Trouba (1G, 4A), Tyler Myers (4A) and Andrew Copp (4A) are on three-game scoring streaks.
Jets vs. Blackhawks All-Time Records
Overall: 12-15-5
At Bell MTS Place: 2-6-2
