WPGBOSpre

It's been a building that has frustrated visiting teams all year - TD Garden in Boston.
Through 19 games in that building, the hometown Boston Bruins have yet to lose in regulation, losing only twice in a shootout to post a 17-0-2 record.
Tonight, the Winnipeg Jets (21-10-1) - who have won five of their past six road games - make their one and only trip into Boston, and they know exactly what they're up against.
"They lead the league for a reason," said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. "They haven't lost at home yet. We're planning on changing that tonight. We're at the top of our division in winning percentage, there is a responsibility that comes with that as well, to take pride in the fact that we're there and make sure we're ready to play our game"

PREGAME | David Gustafsson

The key to Winnipeg's most recent success on the road - outside of the 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday - has been getting off to a good start. Even in the loss to Seattle, the Jets opened the scoring and had leads of 1-0 and 2-1.
"Even though it's been on the road, we've come out hard in the first period. That's been our motto these last few road games," said David Gustafsson. "That's what we have to do today. We know they're going to come out hard."
He's not wrong, and the stats show that Boston only gets stronger as the game goes on. They're second in the NHL in average goals scored per game at 3.90 and seem to do most of their damage in the third. Their 46 goals in the final frame are the fourth most in the NHL.
But the Jets have been finding the back of the net with regularity as well. Since November 25, the Jets lead the league with 57 goals and have scored five or more in nine of the past 14 outings.
"It's going to be fun," Gustafsson said of tonight's tilt. "You always want to play against the best. If you look at the standings, you can see they're the top in the league. I'm looking forward to it."
The Jets are coming off a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, but it's a different 5-1 game that Bowness would prefer his team uses as a template.

PREGAME | Rick Bowness

That came in Vancouver on December 17.
"We didn't give much at all. We protected the middle of the ice, we scored on the opportunities we were given," said Bowness. "So the special teams were good, they got a power play goal at the end, that was off a lost face-off more than anything else. If we can play like that, that's how we want to play, higher percentage hockey."
Bowness will make a couple tweaks to the line-up tonight. In goal, Connor Hellebuyck is ready to return after missing Tuesday's game due to a non-COVID illness.
On the blue line, Josh Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo will stay together, but Bowness will change the other two pairings. He'll put together a duo from Hermantown, MN with Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg, which puts Brenden Dillon with Ville Heinola.
Bowness had a chat with Heinola at the end of the morning skate in Boston reflecting on Heinola's play against Ottawa. It was the young defenceman's first game after missing four AHL games due to illness, and first NHL game since November 23 against Minnesota.
"His first game was like the last game we brought him up against Carolina, just a little unsure out there," said Bowness, adding that Dillon's physical presence may help Heinola against Boston's forecheck. "I talked to him on the ice, you have Taylor Hall coming, you've got Brad Marchand coming at you, you have to be ready tonight. They have a great left side and they play fast, they're going to be on you."

PREGAME | Kevin Stenlund

The full line-up is expected to look like this:
Perfetti-Scheifele-Kuhlman
Connor-Dubois-Gagner
Barron-Lowry-Harkins
Gustafsson-Stenlund-Jonsson-Fjallby
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Heinola
Samberg-Pionk
As much as Bowness talked about the pressure Boston will be putting on the Jets defence, he wants that same principle applied the other way as well.
It's what leads to the Jets being a successful team and playing to their identity.
"We don't want them coming through the middle of the ice with speed," said Bowness. "We don't want them going east to west when they get inside our blue line. If they get in on the outside, we'll take our chances.
"But if they're coming through the middle with speed, you're backing up, and it's tough for defencemen when their forwards can go east to west inside the blue line. We try to protect the middle of the ice as much as we can."
Puck drop is set for 6 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
The Jets have scored five goals or more in nine of their past 14 games. Since November 25, Winnipeg leads the NHL with 57 goals in 14 games.
This is Winnipeg's 10th game against an Eastern Conference opponent, going 5-4-0 so far. The Jets are in the midst of playing three consecutive games against an Eastern Conference team.
The Jets are playing their sixth of 13 back-to-back sets on their schedule this season, having gone 4-1-0 in the front half and 3-2-0 in the second half for a combined record of 7-3-0.
Winnipeg is fifth in the NHL with a penalty kill successful 81.4% of the time. The Jets have played 141:42 on the penalty kill this season, which is the fourth fewest in the NHL.
READ THE FULL GAME NOTES
READ WEDNESDAY'S COVERAGE