GAME DAY: Jets vs. Wild - Game 2

WINNIPEG - Injury updates are tough to come by in the regular season, and even more scarce in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The most recent example came Friday morning, ahead of Game Two between the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild.
After Mathieu Perreault left Wednesday's 3-2 Game One win with an upper-body injury, head coach Paul Maurice listed the forward as a game-time decision after Thursday's practice.
Perreault didn't take part in the pre-game skate, but in Maurice's mind, he remains a game-time decision, and wouldn't entertain the possibility of anyone else coming into the line-up.
"I would say if somebody is a game-time decision for Game Two, he's very likely to be a game-time decision for Game Three," said Maurice with a grin.

Jack Roslovic didn't play in Game One, and could be an option for Maurice if Perreault isn't ready to go come tonight's 6:30 pm CT puck drop at Bell MTS Place.
But even Roslovic was unaware of if his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut would come tonight.
"Ever since the first time I came out of the line-up, my goal was to be ready whenever I got my name called," said Roslovic, who said the experience of watching the first game of the series may help with the nerves, if he plays.
"I've played in a couple big games, but nothing quite like this. You could maybe compare the World Juniors to this, but it's a beast of its own. I'm excited for it."

Bryan Little has experience playing on a line with Roslovic. The two connected for a goal against the Washington Capitals on Feb. 13, a goal that cut a 3-1 deficit to 3-2. The Jets went on to win that game in overtime.
Roslovic had five goals and 14 points in 31 NHL games this season.
"He fills in pretty good for Perreault. He's really fast. He's skilled. I think the transition wouldn't be too bad," said Little. "It's pretty easy playing with him. He's got a lot of energy. He's really young. He gets on the puck and he's got the hands to be good around the net."

Adam Lowry, Dustin Byfuglien, and Joel Armia also didn't take the morning skate either. Byfuglien and Armia both participated in Thursday's practice, while Lowry declared himself ready to play, even though he didn't skate yesterday.
Collectively, the Jets lost over 280 man games to injury in the regular season. That experience, and the team's play while missing some big pieces from its line-up, could prove beneficial if the depth is tested in the playoffs.
"We've relied on our depth all year. It's been the strength of our team," said Blake Wheeler. "We feel very fortunate with the amount of bodies that we have that can fill in and be effective.
"We certainly miss the guys that have been hurt, but it's always a great opportunity for guys to step into the line-up. Typically when you see a guy step in, they bring a lot of energy and a lot of excitement."

The Jets were able to outshoot Minnesota 40-20 in Game One, thanks to a third period where Winnipeg fired 19 shots toward Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk.
"Get more zone time. Play better. That's the way you close gaps like that," said Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau, who liked what he saw from Dubnyk on Wednesday.
"We've needed him. He's dialed in.… Everything he was seeing, he was stopping. We count on him."
Maurice expects those adjustments from the Wild. Now that the two teams are familiar with each other, and the playoff nerves are mostly out of the way, the Jets coach expects Game Two to have a slightly different feel.

"We didn't like what we gave up off the rush. We think those are fixable things," said Maurice. "We think both teams are going to get quite a bit faster - some of the tension that all the Game One games maybe have had in that first period, I thought maybe we got better as the game went on, certainly in the third.
"But I think you're going to find this to be quite a bit quicker game. They'll move the puck better. So will we."
- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com

JETS GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets continue the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight with Game 2 of their first round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild...The Jets erased a 2-1 third period deficit in Game 1 on Wednesday night to win 3-2 and hold a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series...The Central Division rivals met four times during the regular season, with the Jets winning three of the four contests and outscoring the Wild 14-10...This is the first playoff series between the two franchises...After tomorrow's game, the series shifts to Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota for Game 3 on Sunday and Game 4 on Tuesday...If necessary, Game 5 is scheduled for Apr. 15 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg.
Got the First One
Wednesday night's victory was the first playoff win in franchise history...It also marked the first time since Apr. 18/92 (Jets beat Vancouver 3-2) that a Winnipeg NHL franchise won the first game of a playoff series... In the previous two playoff series in franchise history, the Atlanta Thrashers were swept in 2007 and in 2015 against the Anaheim Ducks the Jets fell in four consecutive games.
Fear the White Out
Bell MTS Place has not been kind to opposing teams this season, as the Jets finished the season with the best home record in the NHL at 32-7-2...The last time the Jets lost at home was Feb. 27/18 against Nashville...The Jets won their last nine games of the regular season in front of their home crowd...The last time the team with the best home record in the regular season didn't advance past the first round of the playoffs was in 2012 when the Detroit Red Wings lost to the Nashville Predators in five games.
Not Getting Behind
The Jets were tied or led Wednesday's game for all but 53 seconds in the third period...In 2015 against Anaheim, the Jets trailed for just 47:22 in the four games, including a combined 20:17 in the first three games...Factoring in Wednesday's game, in the 305:12 of playoff hockey the Jets have played since relocation, they have only trailed for 48:15.
New Horizons
The Jets finished the season with the second-best record in the NHL and broke a franchise record for most wins in a season (52), but this is the team's first trip to the playoffs since 2015...The Jets have five players who have played in 20 or more playoff games - Dustin Byfuglien, Paul Stastny, Matt Hendricks, Mathieu Perreault and Blake Wheeler...In total, the Jets players have played in a total of 284 playoff games, while the players on the Wild have 767 NHL playoff games on their resumes.
Heating Up
Nobody was hotter than the Winnipeg Jets in the final 12 games of the regular season, as the Jets ended the season with a 11-1-0 in their final contests and a five-game winning streak.
Fearless Leader
Jets head coach Paul Maurice is coaching in the postseason for the sixth time in his career...Maurice is 26-28 behind the bench in playoff games, with the highlight of his postseason success coming in 2002 when he coached the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final...Wednesday's win was his first playoff victory since 2009 when he coached Carolina.
First Snipe
Joe Morrow scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal in the third period on Wednesday, which was also the game-winning goal...It also marked the first game- winning goal of his career...He has two points (1G, 1A) in six career playoff games... In junior with the WHL's Portland Winterhawks, Morrow had 39 points (10G, 29A) in 56 playoff games.
First Snipe II
Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele also scored their first career goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Wednesday's win...Laine became the youngest Finnish player in NHL history to score in the Stanley Cup Playoffs...It was Scheifele's first playoff goal since scoring four goals for the Barrie Colts in Game 4 of the 2013 OHL Championship Series, which Barrie lost to the London Knights in seven games...Scheifele led the OHL in scoring in the playoffs in 2013 with 41 points (15G, 26A) in 21 games.
Friendly Minnesotans
The Jets roster features four Minnesotans - Dustin Byfuglien (Roseau), Matt Hendricks (Blaine), Tucker Poolman (East Grand Forks) and Blake Wheeler (Plymouth)...Minnesota is tied with Michigan and Ontario for the most represented province/state on the Jets roster...The Jets have the second most Minnesotans on their roster of any team in the NHL, as the Wild had five Minnesotans play for them this season.
State of Buff and Wheeler
Captain Blake Wheeler had seven points (2G, 5A) in four games during the regular season against the team from his home state...Wheeler has 26 points (11G, 15A) in 30 career regular season games against the Wild, including points in 19 of the last 27 games...Wheeler has at least a point in 10 of his last 13 games in Minnesota... Minnesotan Dustin Byfuglien has 32 points in 39 career games against the Wild, including 21 points (5G, 16A) in 24 games as a member of the Jets.
OT Magic
Dustin Byfuglien and Paul Stastny are the only two players on the Jets roster to score an overtime goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs...Byfuglien did it during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, while Paul Stastny did it with the Colorado Avalanche, which occurred against these same Wild on Apr. 17/14...In that game Stastny also scored the game-tying goal with 14 seconds remaining in the third period.