GAMEDAY: Jets vs Wild

WINNIPEG - Of the 19 games the Winnipeg Jets have played against Central Division opponents, they've only come out on the losing end five times.
But one team in particular has caused the Jets (36-25-3) more problems than the other this season, and that's tonight's opponent - the Minnesota Wild.
In two meetings this season the Wild have picked up 6-1 and 4-1 victories, a trend the Jets want to put to an end tonight.
"They've out played us in the two games we've played them," said head coach Rick Bowness. "Now it's up to us to out play them."

The Jets are coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday, a game they took the lead in with 5:07 left in regulation, only to see it taken away with 10 seconds remaining.
Despite not leaving the building with two points that night, the Jets did out play the Sharks, outshooting them 38-24 and, according to Natural Stat Trick, recording an 8-0 edge in high-danger chances at five-on-five in the final 40 minutes.
Still, the Jets remain confident. After all, it was only one game earlier that they went toe-to-toe with the Edmonton Oilers and picked up a 7-5 win.
Add a division rival into the mix, and Adam Lowry feels the Jets will be at their best as they close out a three-game home stand.
"They are certainly a physical team. They use their size, forecheck hard," said Lowry. "You kind of want to repay the favour with your own team's forecheck. I think sometimes in the Central Division it kind of gets back to our roots and how we want to play with a hard forechecking style and possess the puck."
A segment of Tuesday's practice was devoted to specific aspects of playing against the Wild, areas that the Jets want to tighten up ahead of tonight's tilt.
In fact, the first drill was related to how Minnesota breaks the puck out.
"That's just a reminder. Where to be. Read off each other, this is what they're going to do on the breakout, this is how we're going to counter it," said Bowness. "There's a lot of time we'll do something that's related to the game, whether it's faceoffs, or whatever, and it is slow-moving. But it just gets them knowing where they're supposed to be."
Later in the practice, the neutral zone was the focus.
"They play that 1-3-1, it's hard to get through there carrying the puck," said Bowness. "We worked on things, getting through there. We worked on our forecheck to try and slow them down, make them spend more time in their zone. They're a good hockey club."
Mark Scheifele expanded further on that idea, saying it's key for the forwards to be moving their feet.
"If you come up and you have all three guys standing still, you're not going to have very much success," he said. "If you have guys with speed over the blue line - whether it's a chip or a dump - then it gives us a good chance at getting it back and getting some o-zone time."
Minnesota is 8-0-2 in their last 10, even after a 1-0 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames last night. Calgary was also on the back end of a back-to-back, just as Minnesota will be at Canada Life Centre tonight.
Pierre-Luc Dubois is a game-time decision after not practicing on Tuesday. He made his return to the line-up on Monday after missing three games with a lower-body injury.
Based on the lines used in practice, if Dubois plays, Winnipeg's line-up could look like this on Wednesday:
Ehlers-Scheifele-Niederreiter
Connor-Dubois-Wheeler
Namestnikov-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Stenlund-Maenalanen
Morrissey-Pionk
Dillon-DeMelo
Stanley-Schmidt
There were a lot of things the Jets liked about their game on Monday, but they also know the standings are getting tight as teams fight for positioning in the Central Division and the Western Conference.
"There's not really many moral victories at this point in the season," said Lowry. "The more you dwell on the little things that you feel are really going against you, sometimes you forget the big picture. Sometimes you forget the things that you're doing really well. I think that's where we have to kind of start building as a team, on the things we've been doing well."
Do enough things well and the Jets will have a chance to win at the end of the night.
But it's one thing to say it, and another to make it happen.
And the Jets know a divisional rival - especially the Wild - won't make it easy.
"They really don't give you a lot and I think you saw from practice today, we were working on some things to try and be able to get through their neutral zone, try and get to the net," said Lowry. "They've got a real mobile D core back there and it's going to be a good challenge for us."
Puck drop is set for 6:30 pm CT.
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