Preview: Jets at Predators

JETS (30-33-6) at PREDATORS (33-24-11)
8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-TN, NHL.TV

Jets team scope

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba will not play because of an upper-body injury. Trouba, who participated in the morning skate, had 25:24 of ice time in a 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday. "We're going to need that center ice to be real strong down low," coach Paul Maurice said. "We need to spend a little more time there. A good opportunity for all of these guys to play meaningful minutes against some really good players." The Jets, who begin a three-game road trip, trail the St. Louis Blues by nine points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. "We're going to try to go from game to game," forward Marko Dano said. "We're going to try our best. At this point, we want to go out there and try to feel good about ourselves and prove that we're a good hockey team. The playoffs, it's a little far now, but you never know." The Jets are 14-15-5 on the road.

Predators team scope

The Nashville Predators lead the Blues for third place in the Central Division by two points. They got four out of six points (1-0-2) on a three-game California trip. The Predators expect a physical challenge against the Jets. "If you look at their makeup and the players that they have, there's a lot of guys with a lot of points over there," coach Peter Laviolette said. "Fighting still for a playoff spot, fighting to move up the standings. This will not be an easy game. None of the games against Winnipeg are ever easy. They're always heavy. You have to do the right things in order to be successful, but we would expect their very best tonight and we better be prepared to play the same way." Forward Colin Wilson has 12 goals this season, four in his past 10 games. He is on a line with center Calle Jarnkrok and James Neal that will try to continue to be effective against the Jets. "It's been pretty good," Wilson said. "As of late, I've been getting some good bounces and scoring some goals. I think our line has been really good so I'm just trying to build on that."

Jets projected lineup

Nikolaj Ehlers -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Mathieu Perreault -- Bryan Little -- Patrik Laine
Marko Dano -- Adam Lowry -- Joel Armia
Shawn Matthias - Andrew Copp - Chris Thorburn
Ben Chiarot -- Dustin Byfuglien
Josh Morrissey -- Julian Melchiori
Mark Stuart -- Paul Postma
Connor Hellebuyck
Michael Hutchinson
Scratched: Nic Petan
Injured: Toby Enstrom (concussion), Tyler Myers (lower body), Ondrej Pavelec (lower body), Jacob Trouba (upper body)

Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Colin Wilson -- Calle Jarnkrok -- James Neal
PA Parenteau -- Mike Fisher -- Craig Smith
Cody McLeod -- Colton Sissons -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- P.K. Subban
Anthony Bitetto - Yannick Weber
Pekka Rinne
Juuse Saros
Scratched: Kevin Fiala, Vernon Fiddler, Brad Hunt, Matt Irwin
Injured: Miikka Salomaki (lower body)

Status report

The Jets did not do line rushes at the morning skate. … Salomaki was recalled from Milwaukee of the American Hockey League on Sunday.

Who's hot

Scheifele has three goals and 12 assists in his past 11 games and leads the Jets with 68 points. … Johansen has two goals and 10 assists in his past 10 games.