GAMEDAY: Jets vs Golden Knights (Game 4)

WINNIPEG -Rick Bowness has already made his line-up decisions, but what the Winnipeg Jets will look like when the puck drops on Game 4 against the Vegas Golden Knights tonight will remain a mystery until at least warm-up.
"There are a couple of guys that we were a little worried about that showed up better today than we thought. So that's the good news," said Bowness after the team's morning skate. "We'll still take warm-up with a couple extra bodies and let you guys figure it out after."
Of course, the biggest of those line-up decisions comes on the blue line, with Josh Morrissey ruled out for the series with a lower-body injury.
Logan Stanley and Kyle Capobianco are the two possible replacements, although Bowness hinted that the Jets could go with 11 forwards and seven defencemen, which would mean both Capobianco and Stanley would be in the line-up.
Stanley played 19 games for the Jets this season and has eight games of playoff experience from 2021, while Capobianco suited up for 14 games and has yet to make an appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"It would be awesome. I watched the last game from up top and the energy was awesome. It's exciting," said Capobianco.
"It's better to be over prepared than under prepared. I'll get my nap, my pre-game meal, and we'll see what happens."

All of the Jets acknowledge that no one player can replace the 76 points that Morrissey put up in the regular season, so a successful game plan includes everyone working together - in all three zones - to try and even up the series.
"You lose a guy like Josh, a Norris Trophy candidate, it's going to hit your team hard," said Mark Scheifele. "We got a lot of character guys in this room, a lot of guys that are going to step up. And it's not just one guy, it's not just two guys - it's the whole team that needs to step up for a loss like that and we all have to be ready to go tonight."
That's exactly what Bowness wants to hear from a forward like Scheifele, because the skaters up front have a big responsibility defensively. When the Jets take care of their own end, they end up being quite a handful at the other end of the ice.
"Just as important is maintaining possession of the puck. Don't be throwing hopers out to the front of the net and giving them possession," Bowness said. "When we have the puck in the o-zone, hang on to it as long as we can. Make plays. Get pucks to the net but don't be throwing it around."
There were only two things Bowness was interested in divulging line-up wise on Monday morning: Nikolaj Ehlers won't play as he continues to work his way toward medical clearance, and David Rittich - who sustained a lower-body injury - wont back-up Connor Hellebuyck tonight.

The Jets recalled Arvid Holm on an emergency basis Monday morning, and the 24-year-old will serve as the back-up tonight.
The line rushes from the morning skate looked like this:
Connor-Dubois-Niederreiter
Namestnikov-Scheifele-Wheeler
Barron-Lowry-Appleton
Jonsson-Fjallby-Stenlund-Maenalanen
Schmidt-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Stanley-Samberg
Line-up changes aside, Winnipeg's focus is on trying to build the momentum from the furious third period comeback in Game 3 and try to extend that over the course of 60 minutes tonight. There were a number of players that were experiencing the whiteout for the first time in Game 3, and Bowness felt they had to learn to play through it and channel that energy the right way.
"Now they have that experience," said Bowness. "They know what's coming. We want all the focus on just picking up where we left off the last game even though we ended up losing in double overtime."

Yes, the final result on the scoreboard showed a 5-4 double overtime loss. But tonight presents an opportunity for the Jets to even the series before heading back to Vegas for Game 5.
"We have a lot of faith," said Dylan DeMelo. "We'll need everybody to step up and carry the load. It'll be a big test against a fantastic Vegas team. Guys are really ready for the challenge and the opportunity. Hopefully we can get it done tonight."
In the third period of Game 3, Bowness moved Scheifele from the wing back to centre - his natural position - and that seemed to contribute to Winnipeg's resurgence.
"We had some good games with me on the right wing but at centre, I'm more used to it," said Scheifele. "When you go from centre to wing, there's a lot of different touches, a lot of different areas that you're in that you may not be used to. Just got to start it off again tonight and come out strong."

A strong start would be exactly what the Jets - and the fans inside Canada Life Centre - would love to see.
Game 3 was evidence of what can happen when momentum turns in Winnipeg's favour, and it's a feeling DeMelo hopes to feel all game long.
"Even though we didn't get the result, the fans were fantastic," he said. "The beginning of the game there for me, that's something I'll always remember. That gave me absolute goosebumps. We're going to have that noise tonight, it's going to be a lot of fun."
The difference between a series tied at two versus trailing 3-1 would certainly change the context of Game 5. However, the Jets aren't thinking too far ahead.
Put in the work tonight, and the opportunity to win will be there.
"Every playoff game is do or die," said Bowness. "You have to keep everything dialled in on that one game and keep it there. Like we did in Game 3, we kept the focus on the details and playing the game the right way, and playing our game."
Puck drop is set for 8:30 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
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