Morning Skate Report: Jets vs Wild

WINNIPEG - There have only been two meetings between the Winnipeg Jets (18-17-7) and the Minnesota Wild (28-10-3) so far this season, but interim head coach Dave Lowry says his squad knows exactly what to expect tonight.
"They play a rock solid team game. If you look at their line-up, top to bottom, they all play the same way," said Lowry. "They've all committed to their team game and they do it shift after shift. They've been very consistent all year."
Tonight's tilt at Canada Life Centre is the first game coming out of the All-Star break for both teams.
Heading into that break, the Wild were 9-0-1 in their last 10 games. The Jets were 1-5-2 in their previous eight, and want to get a stretch of 40 games in 81 days started the right way.
"From my perspective, these guys are one of the best teams we've played this year," said defenceman Josh Morrissey. "I have respect for these guys and the type of game that they play. We will have to be ready for that."

Mark Scheifele has had a run of success against Minnesota, with 21 points in his last 18 games against the Wild.

That's the most of any player on the Jets roster in that time frame.
The 28-year-old will be relied on even more tonight, especially with Pierre-Luc Dubois unavailable due to COVID-19 protocol.
It's a challenge Scheifele feels ready for, especially after using the All-Star break as a recovery period.
"It was nice to get a few days off away from the rink and then you come back with a renewed sense of energy, leave the first half behind and look forward to a lot of hockey," said Scheifele. "It's going to be a grind. We got our work cut out for us. We've got to win games, we've got to play good and it starts tonight."
Of course, Dubois isn't the only one in protocol. He's joined by fellow forward Austin Poganski and defencemen Neal Pionk, with all three unable to play tonight.
Scheifele's 21:20 of average ice time per game this season could certainly see a bump tonight. His line mates will also see a change, as Andrew Copp - who had been on Scheifele's wing for the past seven games - will play centre with Dubois out of the line-up.
Instead, Scheifele will have Paul Stastny on the left wing. Regardless of the line mates he has, Scheifele wants to take his game to another level to help the team make up ground in the playoff race in the Western Conference.
"I've got to come out and have a good second half," said Scheifele. "It wasn't the way I pride myself in. I've just got to continue to play my game, try to play the game the right way. Try to play the system that we have set in front of us, and just go from there."
Connor Hellebuyck is expected to get the start in goal for the Jets. Hellebuyck is 14-15-6 this season with a 0.910 save percentage. He's started both games against the Wild this season.

The line rushes in morning skate looked like this:
Stastny-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Copp-Perfetti
Svechnikov-Lowry-Reichel
Harkins-Toninato-Vesalainen
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Schmidt
Heinola-Kovacevic
Outside of trying to get two points tonight, the Jets are also looking to establish some consistency in their game.
They played one of their best games of the season two games ago in St. Louis against the Blues, earning their second win in three games against the Blues this season.
The problem was they weren't able to follow it up, dropping a 4-1 decision to Philadelphia a few nights later.
Facing off with a Central Division opponent is a good place to start.
"When we're playing our divisional opponents we have brought a good game forward. There's a certain style in the Central Division for the most part," said Morrissey. "We're going to have a lot of games in our division, which is a great opportunity for us. It gives us a chance to have four point swings, and that's what we need right now."
All the Jets can do is focus on the task ahead of them, and that begins with a strong start against a Minnesota team sitting third in the division.
"There was a vibrant room yesterday when everybody came back," said Lowry. "We seem to have lots of energy. Hopefully that translates into a start tonight."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
ICE CHIPS
Dave Lowry gave some updates on the players in COVID-19 protocol as well as those working their way back from injuries.
"(Dubois) should be a player on the weekend, that's what we are hoping, provided everything stays consistent to where it was yesterday," said Lowry, adding that Pionk could travel with the team if his CT levels (or viral load levels) meet the criteria.
Lowry doesn't expect Poganski to make the trip, but adds that things can change as time goes on.
As for Nathan Beaulieu, who skated in Monday's practice in a non-contact jersey but left early, he was on the ice before morning skate with forward David Gustafsson.
"Yesterday, he wasn't comfortable in the group. We'll make sure that we manage that," said Lowry.
The Jets coach didn't have much for an update on Gustafsson, who hasn't played since Jan. 2, other than the fact he continues to skate away from the group.
Nikolaj Ehlers posted on his Instagram story that he was on the way back to Winnipeg from Denmark yesterday.
"He went home because he could do stuff away. He comes back now and we can ramp it up and see where he is," said Lowry. "My understanding is he's still a long ways away. That might be two weeks, it might be a month. I can't give you a definitive day."
The updates came to an end with the fact that Dylan Samberg still isn't on the ice and is still unavailable.