GAMEDAY: Red Wings at Jets

WINNIPEG - The Winnipeg Jets conclude their three-game homestand with a Saturday night matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. Winnipeg enters the contest coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to the Panthers on Thursday to see their point streak at Canada Life Centre extend to six games.

The Jets have had a tough time finding offence since the start of the week with just four goals in the three games they've played. Two goals came on the power play, one goal came at four-on-four and the other was scored into an empty net.

“I was concerned about it earlier on and then, we got scoring. At the end of the day, these are tight games," said Scott Arniel on Thursday night.

"That’s not a club (Florida) that’s going to hand you any freebies, I thought we had some great looks though. Again, traffic, bodies (in front), like I’ve said before, it’s those greasy goals (that you need) and we’ve got to get back to scoring a few of those.”

Despite the fact the Jets didn’t get the win over Florida, they remained patient in a game that was hard to stick to their style of play. Not much happened over the first 40 minutes of the game against the Panthers but Winnipeg played much better in the final 20 minutes.

“Yeah, it was a boring game. I think we were kind of sitting there. There's just not a lot of chances being traded at either end. But sometimes that's kind of the style that's called for against a team like that, and you see how much success they've had over the past two years, I think they're really committed to that when they play,” said Morgan Barron.

“So, another opportunity for us to kind of, we look at those and obviously we'd like to come up with the two points and find another goal somewhere. But the structures there, and those are things we've talked about a lot this year.”

Thursday’s game marked the fourth time this season that Connor Hellebuyck posted a save percentage of .950 or higher and still lost, now the most such losses he has ever had in a season, surpassing three in the 2017-18 season. Hellebuyck’s next win will be the 335th of his career, passing Cam Ward to move him into 27th in NHL history. Hellebuyck is also set to play in his 600th NHL game in his next appearance, making him the 55th goalie in NHL history to reach the mark.

Hellebuyck and the Jets move from playing against tight checking teams like the Blues and Panthers to a Red Wings side that likes to open things up.

Yeah, obviously, we've seen them once this year, and you see where they're on the standings. They have a ton of skill. And I think they play a hard game too,” said Barron.

“So, it's gonna be a good challenge for us tonight. But like you said, it kind of seems like we have a different challenge coming in every night. So, kind of show up and play our brand hockey.”

The Jets have now captured a point in their last six home games, posting a 4-0-2 record in that stretch. With another point against the Red Wings, they will tie their seventh-longest point streak at Canada Life Centre. The longest home point-streak for the Jets since moving to Winnipeg is 11 games, from Oct. 20-Dec. 11, 2017. This game will also mark the return of former Jet Mason Appleton who will

Wing forward Patrick Kane now sits only three points from passing Mike Modano for the most by a U.S.-born player in NHL history. Kane can become the ninth in League history with the title of all-time NHL scoring leader among U.S.-born players and first since Modano, who tallied two goals against the Sharks to pass Phil Housley (1,232) on Nov. 7, 2007. That came just four months after Kane was chosen by Chicago with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft.

Puck drop is scheduled for 6 CT.