Jets at Oilers preview

JETS (33-27-6) at OILERS (33-23-8)
10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, SN1, CITY, NHL.TV

The center, who leads the NHL in scoring with 99 points (37 goals, 62 assists) in 64 games, had 105 points (50 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games last season and was fourth in the League in scoring.
The Oilers, 1-2-2 in their past five games after going 6-3-0 in their previous nine games, are tied with the Vancouver Canucks for second place in the Pacific Division, six points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights.
Patrik Laine will not play for the Jets because of a lower-body injury sustained when he blocked a shot in a 3-0 win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday. He's day to day.
Winnipeg, 1-2-1 in its past four games after going 6-2-0 in its previous eight, is tied with the Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference, one point behind the Calgary Flames and two points behind the Canucks and Oilers.

Players to watch

Jets center Mark Scheifele has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in a six-game point streak.
Oilers center Connor McDavid has six points (one goal, five assists) in three games since returning from a quad injury.

They said it

"Every single game is a battle and points are huge at this time of year. I think the next game is always the biggest game and losses always hurt at this time a little bit more." -- Jets forward Kyle Connor
"I think when I start thinking about it too much, that's usually when it doesn't work out. I'm going to play my game, do what I usually do and I'm sure eventually it will come." -- Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl on his quest to reach 100 points for the second straight season

Jets projected lineup

Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Cody Eakin -- Mason Appleton
Jansen Harkins -- Andrew Copp -- Jack Roslovic
Gabriel Bourque -- Nicholas Shore -- Logan Shaw
Neal Pionk -- Dmitry Kulikov
Nathan Beaulieu -- Dylan DeMelo
Anthony Bitetto -- Tucker Poolman
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Nelson Nogier , CJ Suess
Injured: Mark Letestu (upper body), Bryan Little (upper body), Carl Dahlstrom (upper body), Adam Lowry (upper body), Mathieu Perreault (upper body), Luca Sbisa (upper body), Josh Morrissey (upper body), Sami Niku (lower body), Patrik Laine (lower body)

Oilers projected lineup

Andreas Athanasiou -- Connor McDavid -- Tyler Ennis
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl -- Alex Chiasson
Josh Archibald -- Riley Sheahan -- Zack Kassian
Jujhar Khaira -- Gaetan Haas -- Patrick Russell
Darnell Nurse -- Ethan Bear
Caleb Jones -- Adam Larsson
Kris Russell -- Matt Benning
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched: William Lagesson, Markus Granlund
Injured: Kailer Yamamoto (ankle), Oscar Klefbom (shoulder), Joakim Nygard (hand), James Neal (ankle), Mike Green (knee)

Status report

Edmonton activated Russell off long-term injury reserve and placed Nygard, a forward, on LTIR. … Kassian will play his first game following a seven-game suspension for kicking Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak on Feb. 13.

Stat pack

Wheeler has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past six games. … Nugent-Hopkins has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past 10 games.