Morning Skate Report: Jets at Predators

NASHVILLE - Two faces return to the Winnipeg Jets line-up tonight as they renew their Central Division rivalry with the Nashville Predators tonight.
Paul Stastny and Evgeny Svechnikov are those familiar faces, with Stastny slotting in alongside Mark Scheifele and Andrew Copp.
Svechnikov joins Kristian Vesalainen and Dominic Toninato after missing Tuesday's road trip opener in Washington.
For Stastny, who missed the last three games due to COVID-19 protocol and working himself back up to game condition, he's hoping to get back into the rhythm of the game early.
"With those guys, it's pretty easy because you know the way they play the game, they think it similar to the way I do," said Stastny. "Those guys are both close support, give-and-go type of guys. They don't isolate themselves. They're always near you, and that makes the game a lot easier."

Interim head coach Dave Lowry has no issues bringing two players back into the line-up at the same time. He added if captain Blake Wheeler was ready (he'll be held out tonight, though he's extremely close to returning to the line-up as well) he wouldn't think twice about putting him in as well.

The return of Stastny and Svechnikov comes at a good time for the Jets, who lost forward Nikolaj Ehlers for the rest of the road trip, at least, after a knee-on-knee hit from Capitals defenceman Dmitry Orlov in Tuesday's overtime loss.
"Obviously he's a really big part of who we are, the speed that we try to play with. I think he and (Kyle Connor) kind of model that for us," said Copp. "It kind of adds to that faith that we have when we're down in a game, just the dynamic offensive ability that we have to kind of come back and win. We're going to miss him for sure. But we've got some guys coming back like you said that will fill that spot and kind of the next man up mentality."
The full Jets line rushes looked like this at the morning skate:
Copp-Scheifele-Stastny
Connor-Dubois-Perfetti
Harkins-Lowry-Poganski
Vesalainen-Toninato-Svechnikov
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Schmidt
Tonight's tilt at Bridgestone Arena is the second time the Jets and Predators have faced off this season.
Back in October at Canada Life Centre, Stastny scored twice (including the eventual game-winner) in a 6-4 Jets win.

The veteran forward expects a different challenge tonight.
"I know it's always a challenge playing in this building, it's always fun. I think that's the best part about playing in this building," said Stastny. "It's loud, it's intimate, they come at you hard, you always have to bring your best. You have to rise up to that occasion."
Nashville started the 2022 portion of the calendar with five straight wins, but are now winless in their last four games including a 3-1 setback in their last outing to the Vancouver Canucks.
But Lowry isn't spending much time looking at Nashville's winless skid. He's focused more on the winning streak they put together earlier this month.
"I think they're playing a complete game," said Lowry. "Pucks to the goal line, they get in, they're physical but they defend well and they're not giving up a lot. We felt that when we played them at home. It was a tough, heavy game. It was tight and it looks like they're continuing to play the exact same way."

At 24-14-3, the Predators are third in the Central Division, and they've reached that spot despite being the most penalized team in the NHL. Nashville is the only team in the league with over 500 penalty minutes, and they average 12 minutes in penalties per night - a mark matched only by the Arizona Coyotes.
"This for us will be a very good test," said Lowry. "They are a very heavily penalized team but I think that's a by-product of the game that they play. They are physical on the forecheck and that is one of their strengths. We talk about what we're going to have to do as a group and how you can combat that."
The Jets have six games in hand on the Predators, a direct result of the Jets having nine games postponed in late December and early January.
Winnipeg has spent a lot of time practicing, but with the NHL rescheduling all those games officially as of yesterday, they know they're in for a crammed schedule going forward.
In fact, they'll play 47 games in 100 days.
"You have to take care of yourself and realize that it's a tough stretch, and it doesn't let up at all," said Stastny. "As much as what you do on the ice, I think it's more important what you do off the ice. Whether that's how you're sleeping, how you're recovering, what you're eating, and picking nights to go out. In the past you might go out more often or have late dinners more often, now you have to be smart about it."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.