GAMEDAY: Jets vs Oilers (Game 2)

EDMONTON -Head coach Paul Maurice wouldn't say who was coming out of the Winnipeg Jets line-up for Game 2 against the Edmonton Oilers, but he did say who was coming in:
Pierre-Luc Dubois.
"I'd like him to keep the game as simple as he can after his little bit of a layoff here," said Maurice. "Unfortunately or fortunately, he's done that a couple of times this year. He's come in after a few days off. And enjoy it. This is a chance. He's a big body, he can move, he can control pucks, so this is a good time for him to ply his trade."

The 22-year-old centre missed Game 1 due to the injury he sustained in the regular season finale against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The injury was the latest setback in a challenging year for Dubois, which saw him have to sit out for two weeks after being acquired by the Jets in January. Then, after playing two games, Dubois sustained an injury that kept him out for four games.
He played every single one after that, until he missed the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That's behind him now. He can hardly wait to show his teammates what he can do in the postseason, as the Jets try to build on a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series.
"I'm 100 percent ready to go and really excited for tonight," said Dubois. "There's just something about this time of year that every shift every battle, every shot, every stick on puck, it's important and competitiveness come playoff time, it's sort of kill or be killed out there and makes it even more exciting."
Winnipeg Jets : Ground Control
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Dubois had 10 points in 10 playoff games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in August, including a hat trick against the Maple Leafs in Game 3 of their Qualifying Round series.
The Jets look forward to seeing what the 6'2", 205-pound winger can do in their colours against the Oilers.
"From what I've seen last year in the playoffs he was a beast against Toronto," said Mathieu Perreault. "We're hoping that coming into the lineup that's the kind of game he can bring for us."
As a group, the Jets will want to bring a lot of aspects of the 4-1 victory in Game 1 to tonight's tilt at Rogers Place.
Namely, their ability to keep Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl off the scoresheet.
At times in Game 1, the Oilers put McDavid and Draisaitl on the same line, making the challenge even more steep for the Jets. If that's a look Edmonton goes with from puck drop, Winnipeg will be prepared.
"It's about limiting those chances, trying to force the puck out of their hands and try to force plays to be made a little quicker than they want," said Adam Lowry. "Just eliminating their time and space. They kind of hurt you in different ways, but it's about defending them and playing them hard, like we have been and kind of just continue that."
There are other ways the Jets want to see improvement in their game as well. In Lowry's mind, it starts with execution. He looks to the second period in Game 1, when the Oilers applied a bit more pressure on the forecheck as an example.
"We got a little spread out. It's just close puck support and moving the puck through the neutral zone as five is going to be something that is important for us," said Lowry. "Kind of just continue what we're doing, getting above pucks and really just limiting the transition chances, making smart puck decisions."
As far back as Thursday's optional practice, the Jets have expected a different Oilers squad in Game 2.

Edmonton was 13-5-0 in the regular season after a regulation loss, so the evidence of their ability to bounce back is well documented.
"I think their transition game gets a lot quicker, I think their D get up the ice an awful lot more, which is going to lead to bigger impacts," said Maurice. "I also think they put a lot of pucks to our net after the first period and I think that's what they're going to do again. This game is going to get straight-lined, very fast up and down and there's going to be a lot of whistles in the blue paint."
It's all going to come down to details, and for a player like Dubois who has vivid childhood memories of watching hockey video with his dad, that's right up his alley.
"In the playoffs, the margin for error is even smaller. Details are even more important, the game is even less open and you see the goals that are being scored right now, they're all in front of the net and they're all around the net," said Dubois. "But that's playoff hockey and that's the time of year that I like the most to be honest."
Puck drop is set for 8 pm CT.
ICE CHIPS
Nikolaj Ehlers participated in the morning skate without his non-contact jersey on Friday, but won't play tonight.
He's getting close, though.
Real close.
Maurice says the speedy winger could possibly return in Game 3.
"He's been in controlled contact for probably four or five days now," said Maurice. "He's in full contact now and looking like he wants to play."
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
The Winnipeg Jets continue their best-of-seven series with the Edmonton Oilers with Game 2 on Friday night.
The Jets struck first in this best-of-seven series with a 4-1 win against Edmonton Wednesday night. It was the fourth time in franchise history the Jets have started a series with a win and are 2-1 in the previous three series when winning the first game.
Defenceman Logan Stanley and forward Kristian Vesalainen made their Stanley Cup Playoff debuts on Wednesday night. Twenty-four players on the Jets playoff roster have played in at least one playoff game.
Connor Hellebuyck turned away 32 of 33 shots to get the win on Wednesday. It was his 28th consecutive start in the playoffs for the Jets. During his career, Hellebuyck has a 0.934 save percentage in 16 playoff games when he's faced 30 shots or more.
The Jets had four players post two points in Game 1. Mark Scheifele had two assists and leads the Jets franchise with 12 multi-point games all-time in the playoffs.
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