Practice Notebook - Mar. 17, 2023

WINNIPEG -Rick Bowness and the Winnipeg Jets aren't hiding from, or minimizing, the importance of Saturday afternoon's tilt with the Nashville Predators.
"We clearly know where we are in the standings and a couple teams chasing us - Nashville obviously is one of them," said Bowness after a quick skate in Winnipeg prior to the flight to Nashville. "We're taking every game like it's a playoff game, right now."
One doesn't have to think back too far to think of the success Winnipeg had in the playoffs in Nashville. A big reason for the second round series win in 2018 was three wins at Bridgestone Arena in game one, game five, and game seven.
Sure, the rosters are much different now, but Blake Wheeler says the Jets can lean on that experience as they get set for the environment they'll skate out to on Broadway.
"It's a fun building. It's always really exciting and loud, and they always have a good team," said Wheeler. "It's always been a good environment to play in. We've had some moments there and hopefully we can get another one tomorrow."

The Jets hold a three-point lead over Calgary for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference, and are four points up on Nashville. The Predators have three games in hand on the Jets, and therefore the two head-to-head match-ups the teams have left this season take on some added importance.
Truth is, the Jets have been playing with urgency for a while now.
"I think it's been like that for the last 5-10 games, we've felt that urgency and we're getting down to it here in regards to games," said defenceman Dylan DeMelo. "Everything is so important, every game is so important. We're working hard, we're battling hard, and we expect a great game from both teams tomorrow."

The frustrating part for the Jets is how well they've played against high-end opponents, and the mixed bag of results they've had so far.
A big win over Edmonton, wins on back-to-back nights in Florida, and then two frustrating nights where they limited two of the top teams in the East - Carolina and Boston - to under 30 shots and single digit high-danger chances, but no points to show for it.
Thursday's game against Boston, a team that reached 50 wins faster than any team in National Hockey League history, was just a brief stop at home for the Jets, who had just returned from a three-game road trip.
Still, they played at a high level, but just couldn't light the lamp when they needed to. They hit two posts, and Mark Scheifele's chance on a first period power play that grazed off a skate - after getting past Jeremy Swayman - seemed to sum up how things went.
"People are tired of hearing of another dominant game at home that we didn't score. The end result is we need to score goals," said Bowness. "But you don't score goals unless you take care of the process and you compete. We did both of those things last night. According to their coach, (Jim Montgomery), their goalie had the game of his year. We've heard that a couple times over the last 10 days."

The task doesn't easier against Predators goaltender Juuse Saros. A finalist for last season's Vezina Trophy, the 27-year-old is one of only two goaltenders in the NHL that has faced more shots than Connor Hellebuyck.
Bowness believes he's a big reason the belief is so high in the Predators room, even if they traded away players like Nino Niederreiter and Tanner Jeannot at the trade deadline.
"When you have a goalie like Saros, you have a chance to win every game. When he wins a couple games, steals a couple games for you, all of a sudden you confidence goes up a little bit," said Bowness. "Then you put a bunch of kids in there fighting for jobs for next year and they're playing loose. All of a sudden you're back in the playoff race."
The Jets and Predators have split their two meetings this season, with each team holding serve on home ice. Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in the January 24 match-up, the finale of a five-game road trip, which saw the Jets fall by a score of 2-1.
Dubois remains a game-time decision for Saturday afternoon, but did participate in Friday's practice. With no morning skate, warm-up will be the best indication of whether the big forward can return from his upper-body injury that has kept him out of the last five games.

"We're going to leave it completely up to him," said Bowness. "If he feels he's 100 percent or close enough that he can not only play the game, but finish the game and make a contribution, then we'll certainly let him play. That call is going to be made by him, not by us."
For a game of this magnitude, the Jets would love to have all the horsepower they can get.
"He's a huge part of our team. He's a horse," said Wheeler. "He's someone we're going to rely on, and we have relied on, all year. He's going to give us a huge boost. Hopefully he's ready to go."