GAMEDAY: Jets vs Golden Knights

WINNIPEG -In two meetings with the Vegas Golden Knights this season, the Winnipeg Jets haven't been happy with how they've played.
Both of those games came in October, both at the end of a stretch of three games in four nights, and both resulted in losses - although the second match-up went to overtime.
Still, the Jets know they've improved as a group since those two clashes with the Golden Knights, and they're out to prove it tonight at Canada Life Centre.
"We're aware of how good we are and the type of team they have," said Josh Morrissey. "We want to bring our best game and see where we measure up against a team like this."
At 18-8-1, the Jets lead the Central Division, while the Golden Knights are a top the Pacific Division with a 20-9-1 record.

Both teams also have something else in common, they're trying to rebound from losses in their last outing.
In Winnipeg's case, they fell 5-2 to the Washington Capitals.
"I'm not happy with how we defended last game," said head coach Rick Bowness. "We really improved for 10 games on cutting down the Grade As, then last game I'm seeing guys walking down the guts scoring goals - which I hate to see."

Bowness says that over a long 82-game season, games like that are going to happen. The key is that the Jets address it and tighten it up quickly. They stayed off the ice on Monday - as their December schedule has them playing more than every other day - so the video session ahead of tonight's game against Vegas likely had defending at the top of the list.
Despite the fact Vegas is 5-5-0 in their last 10 - and were missing Jack Eichel, Alex Pietrangelo, and Zach Whitecloud in Sunday's 3-1 loss to Boston - they're still a formidable opponent.
"We recognize it's a tough team in the West and we get up for these games," said Kyle Connor. "We're only 20-30 games into the season, it's still early, but everybody's aware where everybody's at. I'm sure they're looking at it, too, and saying that's an opportunity to go against the best in the West."
Winnipeg will make only one change to their line-up heading into tonight's game.
Kevin Stenlund will make his Jets debut after being recalled from the Manitoba Moose (for the second time in three days). The 26-year-old Stenlund has four goals and 14 points in 19 games with the Moose this season, and will centre a line with David Gustafsson and Sam Gagner.
"Mark (Morrison) has spoken very highly of him. He's been playing well at both ends of the ice, killing penalties, playing power play, winning face-offs," said Bowness. "We're going to give it a different look tonight. That's what we have with Manitoba. Mark and his staff do a great job preparing these guys. He's playing well, we're not happy with what we're seeing, let's give him a chance."

With Connor Hellebuyck getting his 22nd start of the season - and first against Vegas since his incredible 48-save performance on Oct. 30 that earned his team a point - the Jets are looking to improve on their 7-1-0 record after a loss of any kind this season.
Here is what the projected line-up looks like:
Perfetti-Scheifele-Wheeler
Connor-Dubois-Eyssimont
Barron-Lowry-Harkins
Gustafsson-Stenlund-Gagner
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
Connor feels the Jets have come a long way since that night in Vegas when they gave up 50 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss.
"As a group, our starts have been a lot better," he said. "Judging on some of the performances we've had, I think we've kind of adjusted that first period and just kept it more simple - playing faster, reading off each other - and it's makes everybody's job a lot easier."
It all comes back to playing the way the Jets want to play - take care of their zone, and by doing so, offensive chances will come.
"When we play the right way and we're playing the playing the systems that Bones has put in for us, we're giving them less time with the puck, we have the puck more, and transitioning faster," said Morrissey. "When you play hard all over the ice, try to be aggressive and play with a lot of pressure on the puck, it causes turnovers and then, like I said, we have the puck more and our talented players can go to work."
And in the last game between the Jets and Golden Knights in the regular season, Bowness expects his team's best.
"These are fun games to play, they really are. For me, it's a statement game but I'm more interested in how we respond from the Washington game," Bowness said. "The fact it's Vegas, and we're both fighting for first in our division, first in the conference, that makes the game a lot of fun. These should be fun games for the players."
Puck drops at 7 pm CT.
-- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com
Game Notes
Tuesday's game is a battle of the Western Conference's two division leaders. Winnipeg has the best home record in the Western Conference at 10-4-0, while Vegas has the best road record at 12-2-1.
The Jets have scored five goals or more in six of their past nine games. Since November 25, Winnipeg has been the NHL's highest scoring team with 38 goals in nine games.
Winnipeg is 4-2-1 against the Pacific Division this season. Six of Winnipeg's 16 games in December are against Pacific Division teams.
Josh Morrissey leads the team in scoring with 31 points (5G, 26A) in 27 games. He has matched the career best 26 assists he had in 2019-20, which he did in 65 games.
READ THE GAME NOTES