GAMEDAY: Jets vs Bruins

WINNIIPEG -A stiff test awaits the Winnipeg Jets as they make a short stop at home tonight, a game sandwiched between three and two-game road trips.
The Jets (38-27-3) will take on the National Hockey League's top team, the Boston Bruins (50-11-5), in the final regular season meeting between the two clubs.
Boston is coming into Winnipeg off a rare regulation loss, a 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, while the Jets are also entering the night on a losing note.
They dropped a 5-3 final to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, the only blemish on an otherwise perfect road trip thanks to victories in Florida and Tampa Bay.
"The game in Carolina was probably the best game of the three on the road," said head coach Rick Bowness. "We limited their chances and we limited their time in our zone. We cut the time in our zone in half from the Florida game and the Tampa game. We did a better job breaking out. We out-chanced them, we outplayed them, we just didn't get rewarded. That's hockey. It's how you play the game. If you play the game properly enough, take care of the process long enough, it's gotta even out."

It's expected that the Jets will get at least one big piece back in the line-up against the Bruins.
Defenceman Josh Morrissey played in the road trip opener against the Florida Panthers, but missed the majority of the third period as well as the stops in Tampa Bay and Carolina with a lower-body injury.
Morrissey was close to playing in Carolina. Rick Bowness stated that if it was a playoff game, the Norris Trophy candidate likely would have played. But the extra couple days was exactly what Morrissey needed, and he's expected to play tonight against Boston.
"They're an unbelievable team and their record shows that," said Morrissey. "They're deep at forward, at D, they've got a great goalie and their system is as strong as it's ever been."
Pierre-Luc Dubois has missed four games (including the entire road trip) with an upper-body injury he sustained against the San Jose Sharks on March 6. Dubois has had a frustrating few weeks, as he's only played once - the 3-2 overtime loss to San Jose - since February 26.
He took the morning skate, including the line rushes and power play work, but Bowness says the forward won't play tonight.

So the Jets will still have a player unavailable to them against Boston, which was part of the storyline the first time these two teams played.
On December 22, the Jets were without a number of regulars - Nate Schmidt, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, and Mason Appleton, to name a few - but still took a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes.
A bad bounce off a stanchion helped the Bruins get on the board, and they scored three unanswered to beat the Jets 3-2.
"At that point they hadn't lost at home. I thought, especially through the first 25-30 minutes of that game, until that stanchion, we were playing a great road style of game," said Morrisssey.
"That goal goes in, the crowd gets going, and they put a pretty good push on us for a while. That's part of the game, the momentum shifts in the game, especially against a team as good as they are. It should give us confidence. We feel we can compete with anyone."

The full line rushes at morning skate, with Connor Hellebuyck expected to start, looked like this:
Ehlers-Scheifele-Niederreiter
Connor-Dubois-Wheeler
Namestnikov-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Stenlund-Maenalanen
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
Boston is led up front by forward David Pastrnak. His 46 goals are the second-most in the NHL behind only Connor McDavid's 56, and the 89 points that Pastrnak has are the fourth-most in the league.
Morrissey anticipates seeing a lot of Pastrnak tonight.
"His ability to score and make plays is super elite. It's in that elite class of players in this league," said Morrissey.
"He's definitely one of the league's most elite players, elite goal scorers. He has a wicked shot, makes plays, and does it all. He's a tough guy to play against for sure."
The Jets come into the game four points ahead of Nashville for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. The Predators are also in action tonight against the Blackhawks, so Winnipeg plans to do all they can to put two points on the board before they take on the Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday afternoon.
After all, wins take care of everything.
It's a real benchmark game in that regard," said Morrissey on tonight's tilt. "These points are huge for us right now. We'll need to bring our best game."
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
ICE CHIPS
Bowness announced after the morning skate that Sam Gagner won't play the rest of the season, after the forward elected to have hip surgery.
"He's had some hip issues over the last little while, and he's elected to have surgery. So he's out," said Bowness.
"He had an operation on one the other day and I think he's going to have another one in two weeks when that one settles down."
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
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