GAME DAY: Jets vs Canucks

WINNIPEG -Two words. That's all head coach Paul Maurice needed this morning.
"He's in."
After missing the last two games with an upper-body injury, defenceman Dustin Byfuglien will return to the Winnipeg Jets line-up tonight against the Vancouver Canucks.
He'll slot back in on the right side with Ben Chiarot on the blue line, and will try to help the Jets rebound from Tuesday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
The loss was a hard lesson to learn. Captain Blake Wheeler said while a lot of the names in the dressing room are the same from last season, it doesn't mean any aspect of this season will be easy - that includes holding leads in the third period.
"You look at 52 wins and it looks like it came easy. But it was a daily, non-stop process to get to where we got to," said Wheeler. "It's always a struggle. Every team is different. We have a completely different group of guys in here. It shouldn't be easy. It's never going to be easy. This is a tough league. We're trying to figure that out."

Defensively, the Jets had allowed just two goals on home ice heading into the game against Edmonton. Overall, the 16 goals the Jets have allowed have them just outside the NHL's top 10 in that department. But Wheeler believes there is room for improvement, adding that playing defensively isn't just the responsibility of those on the blue line.
"What makes our group tough to play against is allowing our D to be aggressive, allow them to be in the other team's face, not giving the other team a lot of ice to play on," said Wheeler. "So if we don't have forwards filling over top for them, they can't do that. We have to give those guys the opportunity to be aggressive. In the end, it helps us play with the puck more."

This morning's pregame skate was optional with 10 forwards and five defencemen taking part (including Byfuglien). The line rushes at yesterday's practice were unchanged from the loss to Edmonton. The only change would be the addition of Byfuglien on the blue line:
Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Ehlers-Little-Laine
Copp-Lowry-Tanev
Lemieux-Roslovic-Perreault
Morrissey-Trouba
Chiarot-Byfuglien
Morrow-Myers
Winnipeg will be the final stop on Vancouver's six-game road trip. The Canucks have won three straight games, including Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win in Pittsburgh.
"They have kind of the same type of team as Carolina. A lot of young guys and a lot of skill. We have to be ready to match that," said Patrik Laine, who has watched a few Canucks games so far this season.
"It's going to be a good game for sure. It's going to be a good challenge for us after the Edmonton game. We have to bounce back and hopefully get a win."

Vancouver will be without Elias Pettersson (concussion) and Jay Beagle tonight, but dealing with injuries is nothing new for the Canucks - or any team in the NHL. But Maurice recalls the game the Canucks played at Bell MTS Place last season (a 1-0 Jets win) as an indicator of what tonight's opponents are capable of.
"They've had major personnel change, but it's the same game that they started playing last year, except they're a little further along in their program," said Maurice, who like Laine, compared the Canucks to Carolina, as well as New Jersey.
"Real good sticks, straight line, an awful lot of speed, movie it quick…. This is going to be a tough one."

Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves in that shutout win over the Canucks. He was the first goaltender off the ice from the morning skate and is expected to get the call between the pipes tonight. Anders Nilsson will counter for Vancouver.
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
GAME NOTES
The Winnipeg Jets continue a season-high six-game homestand tomorrow against the Vancouver Canucks…The Jets are 1-0-1 on the homestand after losing 5-4 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night…The homestand continues Saturday afternoon against the Arizona Coyotes.
Home Success
The Jets are 2-0-1 at Bell MTS Place to start the season…Winnipeg has earned a point in 12 consecutive games dating back to last season (11-0-1), but had its 11-game home game winning streak end on Tuesday, which is a franchise record for the longest home winning streak…Prior to Tuesday night, the last time the Jets allowed five or more goals in a game at Bell MTS Place was Feb. 27/18 in a 6-5 loss to Nashville, which is also Winnipeg's last loss at home in regulation…Since Feb. 13/18, the Jets are 14-2-1 at Bell MTS Place and have an NHL best .824 winning percentage on home ice…Winnipeg has outscored their opposition 67-43 in those 17 games…Six of the Jets last eight wins on home ice have been by one goal, including two shootout victories.
Long Homestands
This is the 12th homestand in franchise history of six games or more…The Jets had two homestands of six games or more last season, going 6-3-1 during a 10-game homestand from Jan. 30-Feb. 20 and a perfect 6-0-0 in a six-game homestand from Mar. 15-27…Of the 12 homestands, 10 have come since relocation in 2011…The Jets franchise is 39-26-9 all-time in games during homestands of six games or more.
Party in the Pacific
The Jets are 1-0-1 against Pacific Division opponents and are in a stretch of three consecutive games against teams from the Pacific…Winnipeg went a dominant 17-4-2 against Pacific Division foes last season and are on a 12-1-3 run in their last 16 games versus the Pacific…Winnipeg was 8-1-1 at Bell MTS Place against their Pacific Division foes last season with their lone regulation loss coming to Los Angeles on Feb. 20…Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck led the NHL with 15 wins against the Pacific, going 15-2-2…Nikolaj Ehlers (9G, 10A) and Blake Wheeler (3G, 16A) led the Jets in scoring against the Pacific with 19 points in 24 games.
PK Goose Egg
After successfully defending 13 consecutive opponent power plays, the Jets were 0-for-2 on the penalty kill on Tuesday…It was the first time since Dec. 15/16 vs FLA in a 4-3 SOW (0-for-3) that the Jets were shutout on the penalty kill when having to defend multiple shorthanded chances…On the season, the Jets are 79.1% on the penalty kill, compared to 81.8% last season.
Double Dose
Adam Lowry scored twice in a span of 2:56 in the first period on Tuesday for the fourth two-goal game of his career…It's the second time he's scored twice in a period in his career, as he had two goals in a 2:19 span in the second period on Dec. 9/14 at DAL in a 5-2 win…His three goals through seven games are a career best to start a season.
Helping Hand
Defenceman Josh Morrissey had another assist on Tuesday and leads the Jets with five assists this season…Morrissey had a career-high 19 assists in 81 games last season…He's on pace for his best season offensively since 2013-14 when he tallied 73 points (28G, 45A) in 59 games with the WHL's Prince Albert Raiders.
Next Mr. 500
Captain Blake Wheeler (173G, 326A) is one point away from reaching 500 points as a member of the Jets franchise…He holds the record for most career assists in franchise history and is the only player in team history to have more than 300 assists…The only player in franchise history to reach 500 points is Ilya Kovalchuk, who tallied 615 points (328G, 287A) in 594 games from 2001-2009 when the franchise was in Atlanta.
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Lots of Draws
Mark Scheifele has taken 132 faceoffs this season, which is the fifth most in the NHL…He has won 60 faceoffs, which is tied for 13th in the league…Scheifele has won 45.5% of his faceoffs this season, compared to 51.3% last season.