GAMEDAY: Jets vs Oilers (Preseason Game 4)

WINNIPEG -As the Winnipeg Jets preseason schedule moves into the second half, the battle for spots all through the roster continue to get more intriguing.
Associate coach Scott Arniel, who handles the defence on the Jets bench, has one of those battles right in front of him. The next chapter in that battle goes tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.
Two players trying to crack the Jets line-up on a permanent basis, Dylan Samberg and Ville Heinola, will be paired together tonight.
"We wanted to put those guys in the best situations possible, so they could show us their talent, that they can show us what they do best," said Arniel. "Sammy's more of a penalty killer. He's a guy that defends. We want him to do that, show that ability. So he's going out on the first PK. And tonight Ville's going to start on that top power play."
Up front, there are a number of positions up for grabs, and plenty of players involved in trying to secure them.

"There's our whole fourth line. We've got a number of players here looking for that (opportunity)," said Arniel. "It's a hard role to play on that fourth line, but it's very important to our hockey team. We need to be a four-line team. Any teams that have had success in the league, that fourth line has played a role."
Based on the morning skate, the Jets line-up for tonight is expected to look like this:
Perfetti-Dubois-Wheeler
Maenalanen-Lowry-Appleton
Harkins-Toninato-Stenlund
Lambert-Gustafsson-Reichel
Dillon-Pionk
Stanley-Schmidt
Heinola-Samberg
The Jets, who are 2-1-0 in the preseason thanks to a come from behind win in Montreal on Thursday, are taking on an Oilers club that earned a 2-1 victory last night.
Edmonton also beat Winnipeg at Rogers Place to open the preseason six days ago. However, the line-up the Jets will be using tonight has a lot more veterans than the one that dropped a 4-0 decision on September 25.
Arniel is hoping to see more of the communication he sees in practice in tonight's game.
"Whether it's practice or games, guys are communicating all the time, which is great and that's what you want," said Arniel. "When they start talking with us and then amongst themselves, that's that communication and that's us all getting on the same page as we continue to go along here."
One veteran in the line-up Is Kevin Stenlund. The 26-year-old forward from Stockholm, Sweden is trying to earn a spot on the Jets roster after getting into just three games in Columbus last season, partly due to a knee injury that forced him to have surgery.

His totals from the four seasons in Columbus - after being drafted in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft - include 71 NHL games and 20 points.
"Last year was tough for me," said Stenlund. "I see an opportunity here. That's what I'm focused on. I'm happy to be here now. This is where my focus is."
Stenlund had one shot on goal in 17:45 of ice time against Edmonton last Sunday and while he only had one shot on goal, he was near the team lead in power play minutes and had some opportunities he felt he could have done more with offensively.
"I had a couple chances I should have buried. Otherwise I've played fine," Stenlund said, adding that he anticipates the level of play to ramp up as the preseason gets into the second half. "I like it when it's competitive and guys are more into it. It's the fun part of the game."
As the players continue to embrace and learn the new systems that Arniel, head coach Rick Bowness, and the rest of the coaching staff are implementing, time continues to tick down toward the home opener on Oct. 14 against the New York Rangers.
"You want to get to your numbers," said Arniel. "Tonight's a real strong lineup and we've been building all along, whether it's specialty teams or whether it's our D-zone coverage or our neutral zone. We've been working our video and these guys have been great in practice just picking stuff up that we're throwing at them, because the start of the season is coming quick."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
ICE CHIPS
Arniel had some time last night to visit with some former Winnipeg Jets teammates as the alumni gather in the Manitoba capital for an important reason.
Dale Hawerchuk's statue will be unveiled Saturday afternoon.
"Tonight's more about celebrating him. It's more about that statue and his family being here, being able to be around and see how much he meant to the city and the province," said Arniel. "He'd be humble about it today. He often talked about his teammates and the players he's played with over the years and how they made him a better player, and he'd say the same thing tonight."
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
The Jets are 2-1-0 through the first half of their six preseason games.
2022 first round pick Brad Lambert had a goal and an assist for the Jets win a 4-3 win over Montreal on Thursday. Nate Schmidt scored the game-winner with 18 seconds left, while Evan Polei and Cole Maier, who are in camp on PTOs, tallied the other goals for the Jets.
2022 first round pick Brad Lambert had a goal and an assist for the Jets win a 4-3 win over Montreal on Thursday. Nate Schmidt scored the game-winner with 18 seconds left, while Evan Polei and Cole Maier, who are in camp on PTOs, tallied the other goals for the Jets.
David Rittich stopped nine of 10 shots in the first two periods, while Arvid Holm earned the win after making 13 saves in the third period.
READ THE FULL GAME NOTES
THE ROSTER
Forwards - Saku Maenalanen, Jansen Harkins, Adam Lowry, David Gustafsson, Dominic Toninato, Mason Appleton, Blake Wheeler, Kevin Stenlund, Brad Lambert, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kristian Reichel, Cole Perfetti
Defencemen - Neal Pionk, Brenden Dillon, Ville Heinola, Dylan Samberg, Logan Stanley, Nate Schmidt
Goaltenders - Connor Hellebuyck, David Rittich