GAMEDAY: Jets at Blue Jackets

With two straight wins coming out of the player break, and three straight victories overall, the Winnipeg Jets begin a four-game road trip tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
At 34-19-1, the Jets sit two points back of the Dallas Stars for top spot in the Central Division, and head coach Rick Bowness said the goal for the trip is to be at least in that position, if not a better one, by the time the team returns to the Manitoba capital late next week.
"We're having a good season so far. We talked earlier, we know we have to take our game to another level on a consistent basis," Bowness said. "We want to do well on this road trip regardless of who we play to stay where we are in the standings, and hopefully keep moving up and keep our spot where we are."
The Jets have been a dominant club against Western Conference opponents this season, going 24-8-1. It's been the Eastern Conference that has tripped up Winnipeg a bit more often, with the record sitting at 10-11-0 heading into tonight's game at Nationwide Arena.

"We'd like to see a better record against the East," Bowness said after Wednesday's 30-minute skate in Winnipeg.
Columbus, currently eighth in the Metropolitan Division at 16-34-4, was one of the Eastern teams that caused the Jets some trouble. The Blue Jackets picked up a 4-1 win at Canada Life Centre back on December 2, a setback the Jets are looking to avenge tonight.

"They're in a different position, they're not fighting for a playoff spot," said Bowness after the morning skate. "They have a lot of skill over there. They're free-wheeling right now. They're a hard team to play against. It goes back to us and making sure new play our game. If we do that, and compete a lot harder than we did against them last time, then we like our chances."
The only tweak Bowness plans to make to the line-up is inserting former Blue Jacket Sam Gagner into the forward group, with Karson Kuhlman coming out. David Rittich will get his second straight start, as Connor Hellebuyck available as the back-up.
Cole Perfetti had an assist in that loss to Columbus earlier this season, and comes into Thursday's tilt third in rookie scoring with 27 points and second in assists with 22.
He's always heard that as the regular season goes on, and the Stanley Cup playoffs get closer, the intensity level picks up. He spent most of that time injured last season, so the 21-year-old is getting his first taste of it now.
"There's been a lot of learning, and it's been a bit of a grind with this stretch that we had there," said Perfetti referencing the two-month stretch of December and January, where the Jets played the most games out of any team in the NHL. "It's been a lot of fun. Just trying to take it day by day. Everything this year is just experience and learning for the future to come. It's been great so far, and learning from these guys has been awesome."

Perfetti spent Tuesday's 3-2 shootout win over Seattle on three different lines. The majority of that was with Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois in the first 40 minutes. Early in the third, he was with Karson Kuhlman and Kevin Stenlund, and he finished the game with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.
"Everybody's got a role on this team. Bones, he knows what he's doing. He always has a plan," said Perfetti. "When it's my turn to go, I'm going to go and give everything I have and give my full effort. When it's other guys' turn to go, I'm going to give my full support and just get ready for my next shift."
Bowness' plan revolves around what his line-up needs at the time. He's often moved wingers like Saku Maenalanen or Morgan Barron up the line-up to give other lines more of a defensive lean, and when the Jets are trailing, he adjusts again to try and generate offence.
"If things aren't going the way you want, it's an easy switch to make whether you want defence or you want offence with the personnel we have," said Bowness. "It's a learning process for him and he's done very well, and we're very happy with him. It doesn't mean he's going to play 20 minutes a night. It's like every other rookie in this league. It's a tough league to play in at this time of year when everybody is fighting for a playoff position like we were the last couple of games."
Perfetti had four shots on goal against the Kraken, the third time this season he's hit that mark. His career-high is six, but he's been very happy with his play over the last couple of games. It's a trend he's had through his career, where his game seems to reach another level in the second half of the season.

Take the 2020-21 campaign with the Manitoba Moose. Perfetti finished with 26 points in 32 games, leaving him second on the team in scoring that season.
Seven of his nine goals came after February 13, as did 19 of his 26 points. In fact, he had points in 12 of his final 14 AHL games that season, racking up 18 points in that span.
"I really started to feel comfortable and make a lot of plays and find a lot of success," said Perfetti. "Obviously, it's hard to do that in this league with how strong and fast and physical every game is. You got to take care of your body, learning that side of it. I'm doing whatever I can in the gym and with the trainers to make sure I'm in good shape. The game, the speed picks up."
That's only going to continue as the regular season games go by, and Perfetti is going to do everything he can to make sure he's as reliable in his own zone as he is creative in the offensive zone.
"I feel the best defence is when you have the puck and the other team can't score when you have the puck," he said. "It's so hard to defend in this league. You let up for a millisecond and the puck is by you and in the back of your net. Just trying to focus on that every day is a big part of what I'm doing. I've been happy with it."
Puck drop in Columbus is set for 6 pm CT.
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