GAMEDAY: Jets at Red Wings

After a perfect home stand, the Winnipeg Jets will try and continue their success on the road as they begin a three-game road trip tonight in Detroit (16-15-7).
A victory tonight would extend Winnipeg's win streak to six, and would also give Mark Scheifele some bragging rights over former roommate, teammate, and current member of the Red Wings - Andrew Copp.
"I didn't play against him when he was in New York last year, so that will be a little weird," Scheifele admits. "It's always good seeing him and getting to talk to him. It'll be something extra special getting to play against him."
Tonight's tilt in Detroit is the start of a stretch that sees the Jets (26-13-1) play eight of their next nine games away from home. After the current road trip, the Jets host Arizona at Canada Life Centre before embarking on a five-game trip that starts in the East and finishes with a Central Division match-up.

Add it all up, and seven of the next nine come against Eastern Conference opponents.
"We have a tough stretch of hockey ahead of us, a lot of games and a lot of travel. It's part of the game," said Scheifele. "There are no excuses at home or on the road, we have to bring our A game. We haven't really liked our last two games, the full 60 minutes, so hopefully tonight we can bring it for the full game."

Perhaps part of the reason the Jets haven't liked their full 60-minute effort in the last two outings is the fact they're still integrating four players back into the line-up in Nate Schmidt, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, and Cole Perfetti.
Ehlers missed the most time (36 games) but certainly seemed to find his offensive touch on Sunday, scoring once and adding two assists as his line with Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois combined for 10 points in a 7-4 win over Vancouver.
That trio will stay together tonight, as will the majority of the Jets forward lines and defensive pairs.
The only certain difference against Detroit - who have lost four of their last five - comes on the blue line, where Ville Heinola will draw in for Dylan Samberg.
"When we got healthy, he lost a spot, not because of his play but because veterans were coming back," said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. "We want him to play like he did in the last couple games that he played really well for us. Nor do we want a young defenceman like him sitting out too long. Did Samberg play his way out of the line-up? No. But neither did Ville."

Heinola will be paired with Nate Schmidt.
"There is a lot of chatter on the ice when you play with him. He's a fun guy to play with," said Heinola, who recorded his first point of the season - an assist - on the eventual game-winner against Calgary on January 3.
"I feel like the couple last games I've played have been good," he said. "So I'll just keep building on that."
The only other Jets line-up change revolves around forward Kevin Stenlund, who is a game-time decision due to illness.
The full projected line-up (if Stenlund isn't available), with Commerce, Michigan product Connor Hellebuyck expected to start in goal, looks like this:
Perfetti-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Dubois-Ehlers
Barron-Lowry-Kuhlman
Jonsson-Fjallby-Gustafsson-Gagner
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Heinola-Schmidt
Tonight marks the halfway point of the season for the Jets, who continue to battle with the Dallas Stars for top spot in the Central Division.

Dallas holds a one-point lead, but have played one more game than the Jets.
"We want to keep pushing," said Bowness. "We know where we are in the conference. The goal is to make the playoffs any way we can. As long as we're in those top three spots we're guaranteed a playoff spot. That's the goal. If we can get into first, we want to keep pushing for that."
Scheifele would love to push for top spot, some bragging rights over a close friend, and to make another memory in a city where the Kitchener, Ontario product used to watch games as a kid.
"We always sat way up in the nosebleeds when we went to games," Scheifele said. "I was a big Red Wings fan. They were my favourite team growing up.
"Having Andrew here, it makes it even more special."
Puck drop is set for 6 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
For the first time since 2018, the Jets have won five games in a row. It's the longest active winning streak in the NHL. The Jets most recent five-game winning streak before this one was December 9-16, 2018.
With Game 41 happening on Tuesday in Detroit to reach the midway point of their schedule, the Jets are having their best first half of a season in franchise history. Winnipeg's 26 wins matches the franchise best 26 wins through 41 games during the 2018-19 season, giving them one game to break that mark with a 27th win on Tuesday.
The Jets are 10-7-1 on the road this season. Winnipeg ended their three-game road losing streak last Saturday in Edmonton.
Kyle Connor has 11 points (5G, 6A) during a six-game scoring streak, which has propelled him into the team scoring lead with 49 points (20G, 29A) in 40 games. He reached the 20-goal mark for the sixth consecutive season on Sunday.
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