GAMEDAY: Jets vs Blue Jackets

WINNIPEG -When Pierre-Luc Dubois looks at the current Columbus Blue Jackets roster, the Winnipeg Jets forward has trouble recognizing some of the names he sees.
It just shows how much can change over a few years in the National Hockey League.
"There are still some guys I know on that team. It's fun to see them around the rink and some of the staff that was there when I was there," said Dubois, who played just over three seasons in Columbus. "I don't personally know a lot of the guys, but it's fun to see the ones I do know."
Dubois, who just registered his 100th point as a member of the Jets in the 5-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, acknowledged that the Jets (14-6-1) have done well in terms of beating teams below them in the standings.
But they're not resting on that fact with Columbus in town. At 8-2-0 at Canada Life Centre, the Jets are off to their best home start in franchise history. In order to continue that, they need to bring their best no matter who the opponent is.

"For us, two points is two points," said Dubois. "We beat Colorado who is a really good team, and we're in a race with them. Dallas, we beat Dallas. Those are big two points. But these points against an Eastern team that we're not really in a race with, then Anaheim (on Sunday), it's just two points. It doesn't matter at the end of the year. No one remembers who you beat, they just remember if you got in or not in the playoffs."

The Blue Jackets (7-12-2) are winless in their past three games and are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on November 28.
"This team has played very hard in the last three games. Their power play has been one of the best in the league the last little bit," said head coach Rick Bowness. "You have to respect your opponent. That being said, we'll continue to focus on us and how we're going to play. It's Winnipeg Jet hockey no matter who we play."
There will be a couple tweaks to the Jets line-up from the group that produced the 5-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup champions to open the four-game home stand.
Sam Gagner will slot in for Axel Jonsson-Fjallby up front, while David Rittich will get his fifth start of the season.
Gagner, who played in Columbus in 2016-17 and registered a career-high 50 points that season, has sat out the last two games.
"Sam is a true pro. He sat out and never complained once, did extra work, was ready to go," said Bowness. "Axel has been very good, but someone has to come out to put him in. It's as simple as that."

As for Rittich, he's won three games in a row and tonight's tilt with Columbus is a perfect chance to get the 30-year-old back in, especially with the condensed schedule of 16 games in 30 days that the Jets face this month.
"He's played great for us when he's been in the pipes," said forward Mark Scheifele. "We just want to play our regular game, focusing on what we do best, and continue to do that."
With those changes, the Jets line-up is expected to look like this:
Connor-Dubois-Barron
Perfetti-Scheifele-Wheeler
Maenalanen-Lowry-Gagner
Harkins-Gustafsson-Eyssimont
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
Tonight's game is an opportunity for the Jets to earn their first four-game win streak of the season.
Scheifele, who had three points in the win over Colorado, has already put that win over the Avalanche behind him in order to stay present.
"It all depends on the game at hand. That has to be our focus," said Scheifele. "Continue to focus on what we have to do tonight to be successful and not dwell on the past and not look too far to the future. Just focus on getting better each and every day, working on things, improving, and continue to get more consistent for each other."

The Jets have every reason to be confident in their game. They sit second in the ever competitive Central Division, three points back of the Dallas Stars but have played three less games than Dallas.
After the first period against Colorado, with his team leading 1-0, Bowness told the team he felt they were giving the Avalanche too much respect. The Jets responded by scoring four more times and earning a big win.
That confidence needs to carry into tonight.
"We talk about having that swagger of knowing we have a good team, and proving it," said Dubois. "There is a difference between knowing you have a good team and feeling entitled that you have a good team, and knowing you have a good team and wanting to prove it to others. When we have that mindset, we play like the team we know we can be."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
The Jets went 9-3-0 in 12 games in November for a 0.750 points percentage, which was fifth in the NHL during that month.
Winnipeg plays 16 games in 30 days from Dec. 2-31. The stretch includes three back-to-backs. The Jets will only have consecutive days off in December from the 24-26.
The Jets are 8-2-0 at Canada Life Centre to start the season and have won 12 of their past 15 home games dating back to last season. This is the first time the Jets have won eight of their first 10 home games to start a season.
This is Winnipeg's sixth game against an Eastern Conference opponent this season, having gone 3-2-0 so far.
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