GAMEDAY: Jets at Sharks

A three-game trip through California wraps up tonight for the Winnipeg Jets, and they're hoping to finish it off on the right note.
The Jets (41-30-3) have split the first two stops on the trip with a win in Anaheim and a loss to the Kings in Los Angeles. With just eight games remaining in the regular season, points are at a premium, and tonight's tilt with the San Jose Sharks presents an opportunity.
The Sharks have gone 0-6-3 since beating the Jets in overtime on March 6, and don't have a regulation win this entire month.
"Every single game is important right now," said Nikolaj Ehlers. "We have to get some points. It's as simple as that. It starts tonight."

Looking at the scoreboard every night can be stressful. Tonight, the two teams chasing the Jets are also in action with the Calgary Flames battling the Los Angeles Kings and the Nashville Predators taking on the Boston Bruins.

But the Jets, who hold a four-point lead over Calgary and a five-point cushion on Nashville, need to embrace the pressure, says head coach Rick Bowness.
"Just stay in the moment," he said. "We put ourselves in this position, let's keep it. But let's not look any further ahead than your next shift. It's down to that time in the season. The most important thing is your next shift, the next period, the next game. So we want them dialled in on what's happening right now."
Before flying into San Jose on Monday, the Jets held a quick practice in El Segundo, where head coach Rick Bowness made a slight tweak to the forward lines.
Ehlers - who had been with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler - will skate alongside Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton tonight.
"You know what you're getting with those two. They don't have off nights," said Ehlers after the optional morning skate. "They play the same way every single game. They're fun to play with. Lows is, both ways, really good. He plays hard, gets those loose pucks, and Appy has a lot of speed. We'll try and use our speed down the wings and Lows will get it done."
Lowry has goals in three of Winnipeg's last five games with two of those being game-winners. As for Appleton, the 27-year-old forward scored a big tying goal in Anaheim. They're a duo that are tough to knock off the puck, something Bowness feels will help Ehlers.
"It should clear out some space for him to give him a little more room with the puck," said Bowness. "I want him skating with the puck. I don't want him changing whatsoever. You're after him every day, get the puck and skate, get the puck and skate."

The full projected line-up for the Jets, with Connor Hellebuyck getting his league-leading 58th start, looks like this:
Connor-Dubois-Niederreiter
Namestnikov-Scheifele-Wheeler
Ehlers-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Stenlund-Maenalanen
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
The lone victory San Jose has this month came against none other than the Winnipeg Jets. It didn't come in regulation, but in overtime, as Tomas Hertl tied the game with 11 seconds left in regulation and Logan Couture score the winner 80 seconds into overtime.
Defenceman Erik Karlsson had two assists that night and currently has 90 points this season, 21 more than the two defencemen tied for second in that category - Josh Morrissey and Quinn Hughes.
Bowness can see in the pre-scout of the Sharks that they're focused on getting Karlsson's point total as high as possible.
"They're all trying to help (Erik) Karlsson get up to 100 points. He's and elite player and he's having a great year," Bowness said. "They've got a bunch of kids in there trying to get a job for next year, trying to prove that they belong, and they've got a real good core of veterans."
It was a night that saw the Jets fire 38 shots on goal and earn nearly 60 percent of the expected goal share at five-on-five (according to Natural Stat Trick), but goaltender James Reimer had a response for nearly everything the Jets threw at him.
Ehlers would like to see the Jets put that many pucks toward the San Jose net again tonight - especially after the team only had 26 against Los Angeles on Saturday - but with a bit of a change.
"It's not just shooting the puck, it's also having people in front of the net," said Ehlers. "Those things go together. You put those things together you'll create some great chances. We have to shoot more, but we also have to crash the net a little more. That's something I'm looking to do tonight."
Do that, and the Jets have a chance of coming out of the road trip with a winning record, and a five-game home stand on the horizon.
Puck drop is set for 9:30 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
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