GAMEDAY: Jets at Senators

OTTAWA -In the first of three consecutive games against the Ottawa Senators (1-1-0), Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler doesn't want his team to focus solely on the outcome, or setting the tone for what could be described as a 'mini-series' between the two teams this week.
In fact, Wheeler wants his team's focus to be on only one thing.
"Last night was a learning experience certainly. We need to use some of the lessons and grow, one of the lessons is our starts. There's no question about that," said Wheeler. "You don't just forge an identity by saying or talking. You forge an identity by action."

Nate Thompson agrees with the Jets captain, adding that momentum swings (like the second period against Toronto) are going to happen. It's all about how the Jets handle those.
"It's a matter of keeping our game the same throughout the whole game even when there are momentum shifts," said Thompson. "If we do that, I think we'll be alright."

The Jets (1-1-0) will be looking to bounce back from a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. It's the first of nine sets of back-to-back games the Jets will face this season.
Patrik Laine will miss his second consecutive game as he remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Laine, who had three points in Winnipeg's season opener, did go down to the rink for treatment Tuesday morning, but he isn't ready to go for tonight's puck drop.
The Jets didn't have a morning skate as a full group, and Maurice didn't divulge on if the lines he was using to finish the game on Monday would be what he went back to today.
Those lines looked like this:
Copp-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Stastny-Ehlers
Harkins-Lowry-Appleton
Perreault-Thompson-Lewis
Morrissey-Niku
Forbort-Pionk
Beaulieu-Stanley
What Maurice did share, though, is that Laurent Brossoit will get his first start of the season tonight.
The 2020-21 season is Brossoit's third with the Jets. So far, he has an overall record of 19-13-3 in a Jets jersey, which gives his teammates a lot of confidence.
"He's a guy that is always prepared. That's the best way to describe LB," said Wheeler. "When his number gets called, you know you're going to get a great performance from him. He works so hard between starts. He prepares his body and mind. He's always ready."

The Senators will also be without a young star in the line-up. Tim Stützle, the third overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft who scored his first NHL goal on Saturday, will not play tonight due to a minor injury.
Stützle is listed as day-to-day, so he could return in one of the three match-ups against the Jets this week. Regardless of whether he's in or out though, Maurice expects a challenge from the Senators - who picked up veterans such as Derek Stepan and Erik Gudbranson over the off-season.
"Their competition level is really high," said Maurice. "We're coming in on back-to-back, you know what their board says - jump on us early, get to our back end, and try to win all those wall battles that having watched our game last night, they'd think we're vulnerable in that department. We know what they're going to do in the style of game. We just have to be ready for it."
The Jets will also want to be ready to pounce on opportunities of their own. The Senators have been called for nine penalties combined in their first two games and have given up three power play goals.
Winnipeg's power play - minus Laine - fired seven shots on goal against Toronto on Monday. It was the first game using Wheeler, Paul Stastny, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Josh Morrissey as the top unit and the Jets captain feels there is room for improvement.
"Two of the power plays were pretty good, two of them we didn't really get set up, so they weren't as good," said Wheeler. "It's going to be how it is this year with guys in and out of the line-up. You have to be flexible and do the best you can. Having not really worked on it much and not really used that look too often, we had some good opportunities."

Puck drop in Ottawa is set for 6 pm CT and Maurice plans to have his group ready to roll right when the puck hits the ice.
"We're not looking for world domination in the first period as a sign we're on our game," said Maurice. "How we move the puck and how we move our feet, those were the things that changed for the positive against Calgary and got worse against Toronto.
"I like the group we've got right now."
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
The Winnipeg Jets continue a three-game road trip tonight when they take on the Ottawa Senators in the Nation's Capital.
It's one of nine sets of back-to-back games the Jets have on the schedule this season.
Winnipeg plays three of their first four games on the road, before staying at Bell MTS Place for a season-high seven-game home stand.
READ THE GAME NOTES
READ MONDAY'S COVERAGE