GAMEDAY: Stars at Jets

WINNIPEG - The Winnipeg Jets return home for a divisional matchup with the Dallas Stars after a 6-2 loss in Edmonton on Saturday. The Jets have played six of their last seven games away from Canada Life Centre.

“it will be very nice. It feels like we haven’t been home a whole lot in the last month and a half. It will be nice to just get the two days,” said Mark Scheifele after Saturday’s game.

“Two days in between is rare, especially in a year like this one. Just gotta use it to our advantage.”

Scheifele and Kyle Connor have a not-so new linemate in Alex Iafallo who was bumped up with them on Saturday night and remained with them at practice on Monday. Head coach Scott Arniel has new looks on all four of his lines in an effort to get something going offensively as the team has struggled with consistency.

Gabriel Vilardi moves from the right side on the top line and joins up with Adam Lowry and Nino Niederreiter.

“I need four lines doing the same thing. And Gabe's excited about it. He's a big body guy that can maybe help that line get going. It's just a case of spreading a little bit of the wealth,” said Arniel.

“And I talked to Scheif and KC about this. And it's just... There's obviously a familiarity with Al. It's trying to get four lines going and then go from there."

Make sure to watch "The Check In", the official pregame show of the Winnipeg Jets with Sara Orlesky and Jamie Thomas at 12:30 CT or watch it later on X, Facebook and YouTube.

The Jets six goals allowed in Edmonton were the highest of the season. Over the past two seasons, Winnipeg has responded to poor games well, posting an 8-0-2 record following games where they allow 5-plus goals, including a record of 3-0-1 this season. At some point, Winnipeg has to start playing with confidence.

"Confidence is a funny word. At the end of the day, you get hesitant when you don't have it, you slow down when you don't have it, and you think too much when you don't have it,” said Arniel.

“And I think when you're feeling good about it, you're very instinctive, you're very reactive, and you're very quick about what you do and I think that hockey is so fast that, if you're not playing that way or you're not doing it that way, you're back on your heels.”

Alex Iafallo hasn’t had to deal with this much adversity during the regular season since becoming a Jet. But he does have some familiarity with some in-season team struggles in his time in Los Angeles.

“Oh, yeah, I think a couple times, early on, you can't string some wins together. So, you got to look back to hard work. And doing it together, communication obviously goes a long way,” said Iafallo.

“And when you start in the D zone, I think that's the stepping stone, work hard in there, get it out, and then make the offensive plays that you can.”

The Jets will play their eighth Central Division matchup of the season when they battle the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. So far this season, Winnipeg has posted a 4-3-0 record against Central Division opponents including a loss to Dallas in their season opener on Oct. 9. Last season, the Jets posted a 19-7-0 record within their own division.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7 CT.