Preview: Jets at Ducks

JETS (33-34-7) at DUCKS (39-23-11)
10 p.m. ET; PRIME, TSN3, NHL.TV

Jets team scope

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien likely won't play after he left with an undisclosed injury in the third period of a 5-2 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Coach Paul Maurice did not have an update after the game, but Winnipeg recalled defenseman Brenden Kichton from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Friday and the 24-year-old could make his NHL debut. Byfuglien leads Jets defensemen with 12 goals and 36 assists and hasn't missed a game this season (74 games). The Jets have allowed 10 power-play goals on their past 25 penalty-kill situations (including three on Thursday), and have been shorthanded a League-leading 256 times. "Obviously, our PK has been kind of struggling, and if you're in the box a lot, it's definitely not helping the team," forward Mathieu Perreault said after the game Thursday. "We've got to stay out of the box if we want to have any chance of winning games."

Ducks team scope

The Anaheim Ducks enter Friday in second place in the Pacific Division, two points behind the division-leading San Jose Sharks and even with the Edmonton Oilers. The Ducks were nine points behind of the Sharks on March 15 but are 6-1-1 in their past eight games and San Jose has lost a season-high four in a row. Coach Randy Carlyle said it's the coaching staff's responsibility to make sure the Ducks are mentally prepared for the Jets. "We don't take anything for granted," he said. "We work on an 80-20 model here, where we're 80 percent about ourselves, but there's 20 percent that's about our preparation for the team we're playing. ... Yeah, there are flat periods. There are flat areas of our game in certain situations. We've yet to play, in our minds, a real 60-minute hockey game, so that's what we're really asking. Do what we do, and let's focus on our start, and let's build off our start and continue it for 60 minutes."

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Jets projected lineup

Mathieu Perreault -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Bryan Little -- Patrik Laine
Andrew Copp -- Adam Lowry -- Joel Armia
Brandon Tanev -- Nic Petan -- Chris Thorburn
Julian Melchiori -- Jacob Trouba
Brian Strait -- Josh Morrissey
Mark Stuart -- Brenden Kichton
Michael Hutchinson
Connor Hellebuyck
Scratched:Nelson Nogier, Marko Dano,
Injured:Paul Postma (lower body), Toby Enstrom (concussion), Ben Chiarot (upper body), Dustin Byfuglien (undisclosed)

Ducks projected lineup

Rickard Rakell -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Patrick Eaves
Andrew Cogliano -- Ryan Kesler -- Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie -- Antoine Vermette -- Corey Perry
Logan Shaw -- Nate Thompson -- Chris Wagner
Cam Fowler -- Kevin Bieksa
Hampus Lindholm -- Josh Manson
Korbinian Holzer -- Sami Vatanen
Jonathan Bernier
Jhonas Enroth
Scratched:Jared Boll, Brandon Montour
Injured:John Gibson (lower body)

Status report

Gibson, who started 45 of Anaheim's first 61 games, was back on the ice Friday morning and said he's close to returning from the lower-body injury that has sidelined him for 11 of the past 12 games. Bernier has gone 8-2-1 with a .940 save percentage in the 11 games Gibson has missed. "Right now, we're rolling with Bernier, and let's not forget what he's done for us," Carlyle said. "We're going to go with the guy who's healthy and has given us a chance over the last while."

Who's hot

Wheeler has seven points (two goals, five assists) in the past five games. Scheifele has seven points (one goal, six assists) during his five-game point streak, and 22 points (four goals, 18 assists) in the past 16 games. Ehlers has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the past nine games. Perreault has three goals and four assists in the past seven games and 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in the past 15 games. ... Getzlaf has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in the past 10 games. Rakell has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his six-game point streak.