Thomas' Three Storylines - NSH @ WPG

STAY OUT OF PENALTY BOX
With the game against the Flames, Rick Bowness understood that there would be a chance that there would be some penalties called especially with the style Calgary plays. But Winnipeg made a few too many trips to the penalty box especially early on Wednesday night and that didn't allow them to get into a rhythm. The Namestnikov line for example didn't get out until after the five-minute mark of the opening frame. The Jets took three tripping and one hooking penalty and that cannot happen tonight, Winnipeg is a much better team when they are able to roll all four lines and six defencemen as shown in their wins over Detroit and New Jersey to start this homestand.

ANOTHER CHANCE
Coming into tonight, Nashville is one point behind the Jets and Calgary is two back. Winnipeg hosts the Predators, and the Flames are in Vancouver. The Jets players have consistently said they are excited to have this opportunity to play in a game of this magnitude. Winnipeg will need to do a better job sticking to their game plan than they did on Wednesday night. The Predators blocked 26 shots in their 3-0 win over Carolina on Thursday and will collapse around Jusse Saros to make it harder to get shots through. The Jets will have to get their defencemen involved in the offensive zone and they need to get their initial shot through, and the forwards will have to be around the front of the net to get those second and third opportunities.
PREDS NOT GOING AWAY
After they were considered all but out of the playoff picture when they dealt away Mattias Ekholm, Nino Niederreiter and Tanner Jeannot, Nashville remains in the picture. The Predators are 14-8-2 in their last 24 games dating back to February 21. Their 30 points in that span are the sixth-most in the NHL. Nashville owns a .612 point percentage (28-17-4) since Dec. 19, the eighth-best mark in the Western Conference in that time span. The Predators have scored the first goal of the game on 44 occasions this season, tied for the fourth-most times in the NHL.