Jets at Canadiens preview

JETS (34-16-3) at CANADIENS (30-18-6)
7:30 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, TSN3, NHL.TV

The 33-year-old defenseman returns after missing 15 games because of a lower-body injury. It will be his 600th game for the Jets franchise, his 860th in the NHL.
The Jets are 3-0-1 in their past four games, and 9-3-1 and have scored at least four goals in eight of their past 13.
Montreal, which is 7-1-1 in the past nine games, will try for a third straight win, and eighth in 10 games.

Players to watch

Jets forward Blake Wheeler has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past 13 games.
Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is 6-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against-average, .957 save percentage and one shutout in his past six starts.

They said it

"They work real hard but they get on the puck and stay on it. That speed opens up a lot of lanes, they move the puck real quick, but they've got everybody skating in that group." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice on the Canadiens
"That's one of the best teams in the League, right? They had a good run last year, they've got a lot of experience, a lot of high-end players. But that being said, so do we. So, we've got to find a way to prepare for the game tonight and we'll be ready to go and hopefully get two points." -- Canadiens forward Max Domi

Jets projected lineup

Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Patrik Laine -- Bryan Little -- Jack Roslovic
Mathieu Perreault -- Adam Lowry -- Brandon Tanev
Brendan Lemieux -- Andrew Copp -- Mason Appleton
Joe Morrow -- Jacob Trouba
Ben Chiarot -- Dustin Byfuglien
Dmitry Kulikov -- Tyler Myers
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Nic Petan, Mason Appleton, Sami Niku
Injured: Josh Morrissey (lower body), Nikolaj Ehlers (upper body)

Canadiens projected lineup

Jonathan Drouin -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Tomas Tatar -- Max Domi -- Matthew Peca
Artturi Lehkonen -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Joel Armia
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Michael Chaput -- Charles Hudon
Victor Mete -- Shea Weber
Mike Reilly -- Jeff Petry
Brett Kulak -- Jordie Benn
Carey Price
Antti Niemi
Scratched: Karl Alzner, Kenny Agostino
Injured: Andrew Shaw (neck), Paul Byron (arm)

Status report

Morrissey was on the ice early but did not take part in the morning skate. Maurice expects he'll be ready to return at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. "He put a pretty good press on to get into the game but we've got Dustin (Byfuglien) coming back today, we're healthy," Maurice said. … Tatar returns after not playing because of illness Tuesday. … Byron did not take part in the morning skate. Shaw did but has not been cleared to return. Each is day-to-day.

Stat pack

Connor has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in the past 13 games. … Roslovic has five points (four goals, one assist) in three games. … Drouin, who had his second three-assist game in the NHL (first with the Canadiens) on Tuesday, has five points (one goal, four assists) in two games.