GAME DAY: Jets vs Oilers

WINNIPEG -Tonight's home stand finale at Bell MTS Place features two of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League.
The Winnipeg Jets (19-9-2) - winners of six of their past seven games - will host the Edmonton Oilers, who are 8-2-1 since a coaching change put Ken Hitchcock behind the bench.
"They're playing good hockey right now. They've beaten some really good teams as of late," said defenceman Josh Morrissey.
"They've done it a couple different ways. Either playing hard D and winning a close one or putting up a lot of goals. That makes for a dangerous team."

After dropping the opening game of the home stand, the Jets have scored a combined 13 goals in their last two wins over Chicago and Philadelphia.
The one thing they'd like to take from the 6-3 win over the Blackhawks on Tuesday is a strong start. When the Jets score first this season, they are 10-5-2.
"More often than not we've started pretty well, especially after the first 10 games of the year," said Jets captain Blake Wheeler, who has points in eight of his last nine outings.
"Especially in our building, it gives us a better chance. It forces the other team to play on our terms a little bit. That's how we want to do it."
One of those two losses past regulation time following Winnipeg opening the scoring came against the Oilers on Oct. 16.

The Jets held a 4-1 lead going into the third before falling 5-4 in overtime.
Connor McDavid finished that game with four points, but prior to that outing, the Oilers captain had never scored against the Jets in regular season play.
Morrissey expects to see a lot of McDavid tonight, as well as former teammate Leon Draisaitl - who not only is on McDavid's wing, but played with Morrissey in both Prince Albert and Kelowna in the WHL.
"He's one of the best passers I've played with," Morrissey said of Draisaitl. "Those guys, when they're feeling it they're really dangerous and tough to stop. You have to prepare the best you can and know when they're on the ice to try and limit turnovers. They're both outstanding players and it's a tough match-up."

Dustin Byfuglien didn't take part in the morning skate, but head coach Paul Maurice said he told the defenceman to stay off the ice. He's expected to be in the line-up tonight.
No changes are expected to the Jets line-up as a result:
Ehlers-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Little-Laine
Perreault-Lowry-Tanev
Lemieux-Roslovic-Appleton
Morrissey-Trouba
Chiarot-Byfuglien
Kulikov-Myers
Connor Hellebuyck was the first goaltender off the ice and is expected to get his 24th start tonight. In each of his last three outings, Hellebuyck has allowed one goal and has a sparkling 0.967 save percentage - the second-best mark in the NHL during that span.
Head coach Paul Maurice said he doesn't see much of a difference in Hellebuyck's game, but in a position as specialized as goaltending, sometimes the changes are incredibly minor.
"He has a very high expectation of what he should stop - like all of them all the time," said Maurice.
"It's maybe just two inches out further. Whatever it is, that slight adjustment in his game that he and Wade Flaherty work on all the time.
"Connor felt really good in the net, he just wasn't getting a whole lot of results and maybe you get a bit tentative and start overthinking. He looks like he's just playing the game now, completely relaxed in the net."
Cam Talbot will get the start for the Oilers, who will be without Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell on the blue line tonight.
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets finish a four-game homestand tonight against the Edmonton Oilers...The Jets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Tuesday night to win their second consecutive game and improve to 2-1-0 during the homestand...The Jets head to Chicago after the game tomorrow to play the Blackhawks Friday at United Center.
Friendly Confines
Winnipeg is 11-4-2 at home this season, which is tied for the third most wins and second most points in the NHL...After going 6-for-11 on the power play in their last two games, the Jets have regained top spot in the NHL in power play percentage at home this season at 35.9% (19-for-53)...Winnipeg's 19 power play goals at home this season are tied for first in the NHL...The Jets penalty kill is 20-for-22 (90.9%) in the last eight home games.
Back-2-Back
Tonight and Friday marks the fifth of 10 back-to-back sets the Jets have this season...Winnipeg is 3-1-0 in the first game and 2-2-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season...Last season, the Jets went 4-3-2 in the first game of back-to-backs and 4-4-1 in the second game...Tomorrow is the first of two games the Jets play this season at Bell MTS Place that are part of a back-to-back set.
Large Margin
Tuesday's win was Winnipeg's second consecutive and eighth victory this season by three goals or more...The Jets previous four wins were by two goals or less...The Jets led the NHL last season with 23 wins by three goals or more...During the last three seasons, the Jets have won 43 games by three goals or more, which is tied for fifth most in the NHL.
In Bunches
The Jets improved to 8-0 on Tuesday when scoring five goals or more in a game this season...Winnipeg has scored six goals or more in back-to-back games for the first time this season...The last time the Jets scored six goals or more in back-to-back games was Feb. 16-18/18 (6-1 W vs. COL; 7-2 W vs. FLA)...Winnipeg has scored 106 goals this season, which is tied for sixth in the NHL...Since a 6-3 win in Vancouver on Nov. 19, the Jets have tallied 51 goals in their last 12 games (8-4-0), which is second in the NHL...Winnipeg has scored four goals or more in seven of the 12 games...The Jets hold a plus-24 goal differential this season, which leads the Western Conference and is third in the NHL.
Wonderful Time of Year
The Jets are 5-1-0 in December, which is tied with the Oilers for the second-best record in the NHL...Winnipeg ranks in the top five of several categories this month.
Busy Schedule
The Jets play 12 games in the first 22 days of December and are in the midst of their busiest stretch with five games in eight days, which began Sunday against Philadelphia...When December started, the Jets were tied for the fewest games played in the NHL this season with 24...The Jets have eight occurrences of four games in six nights this season.
Through 30
With a 19-9-2 record, 40 points and a .615 winning percentage, the Jets have posted their best record through 30 games in franchise history...The 2006-07 Atlanta Thrashers also had 40 points at this point in the season, but had a 18-8-4 record...This edition of the Jets can become the fastest to win 20 games to start a season with a win tonight.
VIEW FULL GAME NOTES
Party in the Pacific
The Jets are 4-1-1 against Pacific Division opponents this season...Winnipeg was a dominant 17-4-2 against Pacific Division foes last season and are on a 15-2-3 run in their last 20 games versus the Pacific...Patrik Laine (6G, 1A), Kyle Connor (2G, 5A) and Dustin Byfuglien (1G, 6A) lead the Jets in scoring against the Pacific Division this season with seven points each.
Two for KC
Kyle Connor scored twice against the Blackhawks on Tuesday to record his first multi-goal game of the season and his third goal in his last two games...Connor has two goal-scoring streaks of three games this season (Oct. 4-9 and Nov. 14-19)...Tuesday was Connor's sixth two-goal game of his career, but he has yet to score a hat trick.
Back-to-Back Points
With 11 goals in their last two games, the Jets have nine players with points in back-to-back games, including defenceman Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien.
Helle Heating Up
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 36 of 37 shots against the Flyers on Sunday to earn his 13th win of the season, which is tied for third in the NHL...Hellebuyck has 57 wins during the last two seasons, which leads the NHL...Hellebuyck is four wins away from 100 for his NHL career...Hellebuyck has stopped 89 of 92 shots in his last three games for a .967 save percentage...It's the third time in his career he's allowed a goal or less in three consecutive starts in the same season, including the first three games of his career.