GAMEDAY: Jets at Senators

OTTAWA -The priority tonight for the Winnipeg Jets (25-14-3) tonight in a rematch with the Ottawa Senators (14-25-4) is simple, especially in the mind of forward Nate Thompson.
"Play better," he said.
The veteran forward did expand on that thought, as he expects his team will bring their best in an effort to avenge Monday's 4-2 loss.
"It's just one of those nights that we didn't have it. We have to make sure that we rebound, come out and play the way we've played after losing games," said Thompson. "I think for the most part this year we've done a really good job of responding after a loss. I'd expect us to do that tonight."

His confidence in Winnipeg's ability to bounce back is well-founded.

The Jets are 10-1-2 following a regulation loss this season. They've only lost consecutive games in regulation once so far this season.
Speaking of motivated to bounce back, Laurent Brossoit will start in goal for Winnipeg. After winning five of his first six starts this season, Brossoit has lost each of his last two starts and will want to get back in the win column with his teammates tonight.
Winnipeg Jets : Ground Control
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Fly By - April 14, 2021 - WPG @ OTT
Outside of the change in goal, the Jets will use the same skaters tonight as Monday:
Connor-Scheifele-Copp
Stastny-Dubois-Ehlers
Perreault-Lowry-Appleton
Harkins-Thompson-Lewis
Morrissey-Poolman
Forbort-Pionk
Stanley-DeMelo
Head coach Paul Maurice hinted after Tuesday's practice that there are a couple more line combinations and defensive pairings that he may want to try out before the end of the regular season.
His team is 16 points clear of the playoff line with 14 points to go, but that doesn't mean he's putting less of a priority on each individual day.
"I think we're so much better off just looking at today and trying to be a good hockey team tonight," said Maurice. "Part of the danger of talking about playoffs all the time is you forget you're still in the regular season. The teams you're playing are either fighting for their lives or trying to do what you're doing in getting your game ready. You just want to feel good."

And "good" is exactly how Paul Stastny feels with Nikolaj Ehlers on his wing. It's a combination the Jets have used for the last two games, but the two have played together at other points of the season as well. Stastny feels his line with Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois is close to breaking out.
"When (Ehlers) gets the puck, or when he doesn't have the puck, I know where he is at all times and I know what play is going to be made. For me, it's really easy to read off that," said Stastny.
"With (Dubois) I think he's starting to get comfortable with that. It's just about communicating and getting those little things. We're getting some chances, a couple posts here and there, but eventually those are going to go. We just have to stick with it."
Ehlers has 299 career points coming into tonight's tilt with the Senators and could become the fourth Danish player to hit 300 career points tonight. He would join Frans Nielsen (473), Mikkel Boedker (327), and Lars Eller (312) in that club when that time comes.
Ehlers, alongside his linemates, teamed up to put Winnipeg ahead 2-0 on Monday before Ottawa's four unanswered goals.
"You're going to have nights that you're not playing the way you want to," said Ehlers. "It's just a matter of forgetting that game and getting back to the way we played against Montreal. That was pretty good. We have to get back to playing simple, play hard, get on their D, and get shots to the net."

The strategy of getting pucks to the net is a common slogan for the Jets, but it could take on more emphasis tonight for a couple reasons.
The first is that Ottawa blocked 22 shots on Monday. The second is that Matt Murray is getting his first start in goal for the Senators since Mar. 10. He suffered an upper-body injury in warm-up on Mar. 15.
Of course, the concept of "pucks to the net" is only one part of the Jets identity. Thompson feels it's important that his club continues to grow in the concepts they've been focusing on since the start of training camp.
"You want to be firing on all cylinders," Thompson said. "For us, it's playing the right way and getting our game in order consistently. That's what we're looking for heading into these last few games."
Puck drop is set for 6 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
The Jets continue a five-game road trip on Wednesday with the second of two games against the Ottawa Senators. The Jets began the trip with a pair of wins against the Montreal Canadiens last week and conclude the trip on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Jets are 10-1-2 this season following a regulation loss.
The Jets are 11-3-1 in their past 15 games against the Senators and have won three of their past four games in the nation's capital.
Derek Forbort ranks third in the NHL this season with 91 blocked shots.
Mark Scheifele is tied for eighth in NHL scoring with 48 points (15G, 33A) in 42 games this season. He's one of only five players in the NHL this season with 15 goals and 30 assists.
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