GAMEDAY: Jets at Senators

OTTAWA -Thursday's game day routine was a little bit different than Dylan DeMelo was used to.
"It's funny coming here today and going to the visitor's locker room. Everybody has been great so far, very welcoming," said DeMelo. "It was good to get out there and skate with the guys. Obviously I've met everybody so far, so everything has been really good."
The 26-year-old defenceman, acquired by the Winnipeg Jets (31-25-5) on Tuesday, played 126 games for the Ottawa Senators, but tonight, he'll go up against his old team as the Jets begin a four-game road trip in the nation's capital.
"Make sure I'm passing to the right team. It shouldn't be hard, the colours are quite different," DeMelo laughed. "I'm just a steady, smart defenceman. I'll try and play as hard as I can and try to help this team any way I can. If it's playing good defence, blocking a shot, taking a hit to make the play, I'm a guy who does a lot of little things well that maybe you don't see often. Whatever role I play, I try to do the best I can."

Jets head coach Paul Maurice said DeMelo will be paired up with Nathan Beaulieu tonight. He said the main reason for that is so there is minimal disruption of the defensive pairs that helped the Jets to a 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
The biggest challenge for any player coming to a new team always rests in picking up new systems quickly. Maurice expects the same for DeMelo.
"He's got a whole bunch of new systems to run. Our neutral zone is quite a bit different than Ottawa's. He's playing his old team so he's dealing with that," said Maurice. "We're getting him through this game. We're not going to over evaluate where he's at. We want to give him enough minutes that he gets feeling good, he's touching the puck, and he gets enough reps in our system that he feels comfortable the next night."
The rest of the Jets line-up will look similar to the one that finished off the game on Tuesday. The only exceptions are Laurent Brossoit in goal over Connor Hellebuyck, and Logan Shaw will draw back in for Andrei Chibisov.
The projected line-up is expected to look like this:
Ehlers-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Copp-Laine
Harkins-Roslovic-Appleton
Bourque-Shore-Shaw
Morrissey-Poolman
Kulikov-Pionk
Beaulieu-DeMelo
Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler was a look the Jets went to twice in the final two games of the home stand. The first time, against the Chicago Blackhawks, it was for the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Against the Kings, Maurice put them together alongside Ehlers for the final 40 minutes - and it paid immediate dividends. The trio combined for eight points in a span of 19:58.
"I think the biggest benefit is Blake gets out of the middle and back to a place that he's really comfortable," said Maurice, adding the top six forwards will still see some movement as the schedule rolls on. "That familiarity will help them. I thought Nik Ehlers was really good in that game as well on the left side."

A win tonight would not only start the road trip off on a positive note, it would also vault the Jets into a wildcard spot.
Winnipeg is one point back of the Arizona Coyotes heading into tonight's action. However, they don't expect two points to come easy, despite Ottawa's 21-28-11 record.
"They have a better home record than we do. So we'll start with that," said Maurice.
"We haven't earned the right to be that arrogant. We're playing hard, we have to rely on that. We've scratched and clawed, we can rely on that. While I say I'd be very surprised if we. Took anybody lightly, I'll worry about it all afternoon."
As for DeMelo, he knows he'll have his hands full with one particular old teammate.
"Brady (Tkachuk) is such a great kid. He's such a big piece of that team already. He's a powerful player already and its only his second year in the league," said DeMelo. "As a young guy, he's only going to get stronger and better. I'm looking forward to the challenge. I' m sure he's going to hit me 12 times like he does with the other team's D. It'll be a good battle. I'm looking forward to it."
Puck drop is set for 6:30 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
The Winnipeg Jets begin a four-game road trip tonight when they face the Ottawa Senators…The Jets are coming off a 4-2-0 homestand, which ended with a 6-3 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night…Winnipeg continues the road trip with back-to-back games on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers and Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres.
Last Game
Feb. 18 vs. LAK - 6-3 W
Jets Scorers: Harkins (2), Appleton (6), Wheeler (19, 20), Ehlers (21), Laine (25)
Kings Scorers: Brown (11, 12), Frk (4)
Jets Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck (31 sv, 3 ga)
Kings Goaltender: Calvin Petersen (29 sv, 5 ga)
Jets PP: 0-for-2
Jets PK: 0-for-2
Recap: The Jets scored three times in each of the second and third periods to double up the Los Angeles Kings 6-3 on Tuesday night…Five players had multi-point games for the Jets, led by Blake Wheeler (2G, 1A) and Nikolaj Ehlers' (1G, 2A) three-point nights…Ehlers and Kyle Connor paced the Jets with six shots each.
Three Stars: 1. Ehlers 2. Scheifele 3. Wheeler
READ THE GAME NOTES
Unfamiliar Territory
Tomorrow is Winnipeg's second road game in nearly a month…The Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Feb. 6 in their previous road game, which ended a four-game road losing streak…Winnipeg hasn't won consecutive road games in regulation since Nov. 27-29…The Jets are 15-11-2 on the road this season, which ranks tied for 14th in the NHL…Mark Scheifele leads the Jets in scoring on the road with 32 points (12G, 20A) in 28 games, while Nikolaj Ehlers has a team leading 14 goals.
Goals, Goals, Goals
Tuesday's win marked the first time since Dec. 31/19 that the Jets scored six goals in a game…The Jets have scored five goals or more in four of their past six wins…In the 2020 calendar year, Winnipeg is tied for 11th in the NHL with 59 goals.
20 Tallies
Blake Wheeler scored twice on Tuesday to reach 20 goals for the seventh consecutive season and eighth time in his career…It matches the 20 goals he scored last season, but in 21 fewer games…Wheeler's the fifth member of the Jets to score 20 goals this season…The Jets are the only team in the NHL this season with five 20-goal scorers.
Busy Body
Connor Hellebuyck has made 31 saves in back-to-back wins…He's made 30 or more saves in a game 25 times this season, which leads the NHL…Hellebuyck is 15-5-5 with a 2.20 goals-against average and .941 save percentage this season in games he's made 30 or more saves.
Accept This Rose
Jack Roslovic had two assists on Tuesday to reach 15 assists this season, which matches his career high from last season…He's tallied eight points (3G, 5A) in his past nine games…Roslovic has previously set career highs for goals (12) and points (27) in a season.
Scoring at Home
Jansen Harkins scored his second career goal on Tuesday and first goal at Bell MTS Place as a member of the Jets…Harkins is the 526th NHL player to score a goal at Bell MTS Place, which includes 252 that have scored once…Blake Wheeler's 106 goals at Bell MTS Place are the most in NHL history.
How the Jets Were Built
Drafted (14) - Appleton, Connor, Copp, Ehlers, Harkins, Hellebuyck, Laine, Little, Lowry, Morrissey, Niku, Poolman, Scheifele, Roslovic
Trade (4) - Beaulieu, DeMelo, Pionk, Wheeler
Free Agency (8) - Bitetto, Bourque, Brossoit, Chibisov, Kulikov, Letestu, Perreault, Shaw
Waivers (3) - Dahlstrom, Sbisa, Shore