GAMEDAY: Jets at Islanders

The Winnipeg Jets conclude a four-game road trip tonight as they take on the New York Islanders at UBS Arena.
A win tonight in the first meeting between the two teams this season would help the Jets accomplish the goal they set out after dropping the first two contests on the trip.
"To get ourselves a chance to go back 0.500, we needed (to win on Monday)," Pierre-Luc Dubois said after the 4-1 win over the New York Rangers that night. "Especially at this point of the year, results matter more than anything else."
Now, if they get the result they're looking for against the Islanders, the Jets will go 2-2-0 on the road trip.
"We needed that win," said Mason Appleton. "We're going to play a good hard game tonight, we have to end the road trip 0.500. That's our goal. Win tonight."
That won't be easy, of course. No night in the National Hockey League ever is.
The Islanders won both games against the Jets last season by a combined score of 7-2. This, however, is a new season, and both teams have changed., whether that be personnel (as is the case for the Islanders) or coaching staff (like it is for Winnipeg).
"We've been watching film on them. They play a hard game, an honest 200-foot hockey game," said Appleton. "They need wins right now and they know where they are in the standings, and we know where they are. It's a big game for both teams tonight."

Both teams come into Wednesday's tilt off victories. The Jets (35-21-1) were opportunistic against the Rangers and had a 50-save performance from Connor Hellebuyck to beat the Rangers, while the Islanders scored three unanswered goals in the third to beat Pittsburgh 4-2 on Monday.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Cole Perfetti didn't play in the win over the Rangers. The 21-year-old scored his eighth of the season in the loss to New Jersey, but sustained an upper-body injury at some point during the game. Head coach Rick Bowness said the forward was being reassessed on Tuesday, so his status remains up in the air for the road trip finale. In the meantime, Perfetti has been moved to injured reserve and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose on an emergency basis.
Jonsson-Fjallby had three goals and four points with the Moose since he was reassigned.

Without Perfetti, the Jets were forced to shuffle their lines against the Rangers. There seemed to be some success, with Mark Scheifele scoring twice for his 10th multi-goal game of the season, and Dubois and Connor picking up tallies of their own.
Based on the line rushes at the morning skate at UBS Arena, expect the Jets line-up to look like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Appleton
Ehlers-Dubois-Wheeler
Barron-Lowry-Kuhlman
Maenalanen-Stenlund-Gagner
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
Logan Stanley played 15:05 and had four hits, and was a big part of the Jets penalty kill going 4-for-4 on the night against the Rangers.
Bowness has said, frequently, that he doesn't want players sitting very long. So Samberg, who sat out against the Rangers, draws in for tonight against the Islanders.
"He's played really well. He sat out the other night, but he didn't deserve to sit out," said Bowness. "But again, trying to keep everybody in as much as we can. The downside of that is they can't get into any rhythm. You don't want anyone sitting too long. Kyle (Capobianco) has been the guy that has been able to handle it. He hasn't played in a month and he goes in and plays really well. He's handled that whole thing really well."
Connor Hellebuyck is expected to start in goal.
THE OPPOSITION
Heading into action on Wednesday, the Islanders held the top wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference at 29-24-7. They're 6-2-2 in their last 10 games, and their win over Pittsburgh not only put them into a playoff spot, it pushed the Penguins outside the playoff line for the time being.
All-Star Brock Nelson leads the Islanders with 26 goals and 57 points, and new acquisition Bo Horvat has four goals and six points in eight games since coming to Long Island on January 30.
The Islanders will be without the services of Mathew Barzal, who is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
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