Preview: Jets at Canucks

JETS (15-16-3) at CANUCKS (13-16-3)
10 p.m. ET; SNP, TSN3, NHL.TV

Jets team scope

The Winnipeg Jets are 5-10-2 on the road but are hoping the rare chance to settle in for two straight games in Vancouver on Tuesday and Thursday will help turn that around. "I think it can help, especially going into Christmas with four days off," forward Mathieu Perreault said. "We can just leave it all out here and I think it's good from a team standpoint to be in the same city for a few days." It also makes it easier for forward Brandon Tanev to catch up with his brother, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev. "It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to play against your brother in the National Hockey League and it's an exciting moment for both us and our family," Brandon Tanev said. Forward Nic Petan returns after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. The 21-year-old, who has a goal and seven points in 13 games, will center the fourth line but also receive power-play time. "He's shown a real ability on the half wall and has the confidence of the players around him to work the puck," coach Paul Maurice said.

Canucks team scope

The Canucks will be focused on the Jets top line of Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine that has a combined for 39 goals and 46 assists. "You have to pay special attention to them for sure," coach Willie Desjardins said. "That's one of the best lines in the League." Goalie Jacob Markstrom will start after Ryan Miller played the past two games. "I think our goalies play their best when they are fresh," Desjardins said. "Coming back off the trip we wanted to get Ryan going and he played well those two games but we feel like both goalies are solid so we'll go with both guys." Vancouver is 9-5-2 at Rogers Arena, four points behind Winnipeg in the Western Conference and are 1-0-1 since blowing a 5-2 third-period lead in an 8-6 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes that ended a five-game road trip on Dec. 13. "After that Carolina game we got home and said we needed to have a good homestand to get back into the playoff race," Christopher Tanev said. "We've done that so far so these are definitely two huge games we need to win."

Jets projected lineup

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

Canucks projected lineup

Daniel Sedin -- Henrik Sedin -- Jannik Hansen
Markus Granlund -- Brandon Sutter -- Loui Eriksson
Sven Baertschi -- Bo Horvat -- Alexandre Burrows
Jack Skille -- Michael Chaput -- Jayson Megna
Ben Hutton -- Christopher Tanev
Luca Sbisa - Troy Stecher
Nikita Tryamkin -- Alex Biega
Jacob Markstrom
Ryan Miller
Scratched:Brendan Gaunce, Andrey Pedan
Injured: Erik Gudbranson (wrist surgery), Alexander Edler (fractured finger), Derek Dorsett (neck surgery), Anton Rodin (knee), Philip Larsen (concussion)

Status report

Burmistrov will be a healthy scratch for a sixth straight game. … Edler continues to skate on his own but won't return before Christmas at the earliest. Gaunce will be a healthy scratch for a fourth straight game.

Who's hot

Laine has a goal and three assists in his past two games, including his Jets-leading ninth multi-point game (1-2-3) in a 4-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. The 18-year-old rookie is third in the NHL with 18 goals. … Sutter has scored in three straight games and has four points during that streak. … Baertschi has two goals and five points during a three-game point streak.