MONTREAL – The first time the Winnipeg Jets took on the Montreal Canadiens this season, forward Nikolaj Ehlers’ injury prevented him from playing against close friend Patrik Laine.
That won’t be the case tonight.
“I went for dinner with him last night,” said Ehlers with a grin. “Not much chirping about the game tonight, but hopefully we’ll be out there against each other. We’ll definitely be talking.”
The Jets (34-14-3) will look to sweep the season series against the Canadiens (24-20-5) tonight. In the first meeting back in December, Winnipeg earned a 4-2 win with two goals coming on the power play.
In fact, that game started a streak of seven straight with at least one power play goal. During that stretch, Winnipeg had four multi-goal outings with the man advantage, and went 11-for-27.
Of course, the power play is just one storyline going into tonight’s contest. The Jets know they’ll have to be at their best in all facets of the game if they want to hand the Canadiens their third straight defeat.
“They play aggressive and they’re playing really well,” said Josh Morrissey. “They’re in the hunt for the playoffs in the East. They’re a young group trying to take that next step. That’s a dangerous team, so we have to be ready to go.”
Tonight’s tilt not only kicks off a three-game road trip, it’s also the beginning of five straight games against the Eastern Conference. So far, the Jets are 12-5-0 against the East and 8-4-0 against the Atlantic Division.
“It’s a little different. Sometimes you don’t see these guys for a while but we’ve got to see Montreal in our building,” said head coach Scott Arniel. “It would be nice, obviously, to get the trip started on the right note. You play against these teams in their building, you really have to be responsible in how you play the game.”
The only change expected in Winnipeg’s line-up comes in goal. After Eric Comrie turned aside 20 of 22 shots in Sunday’s win over Calgary, Connor Hellebuyck will be back between the pipes at the Bell Centre.
The line rushes in front of him at morning skate looked like this:
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Ehlers
Niederreiter-Kupari-Appleton
Barron-Gustafsson-Iafallo
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Fleury-Stanley
Even though the Canadiens are winless in their last two – they dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to New Jersey on Saturday – they’re still 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. That run has them sitting just two points back of Tampa Bay for the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
Montreal is also 13-8-4 on home ice.
“They’ve been really good lately. You look at their team, they have a pretty good team,” said Ehlers. “We know they have a lot of skill, they have a lot of speed, and they grind pucks as well. It’s going to be a tough game. Games in Montreal are always fun to play, they’re always hard, but they’re a lot of fun. We’re excited for this challenge tonight.”
Stylistically, the Jets expect a bit of a shift from their two opponents from the home stand in Utah and Calgary. Utah is a team among the National Hockey League’s best in terms of minimizing high-danger chances against (according to Natural Stat Trick), and the game against Calgary was tight right until the Jets broke it open in the third.
It’s that type of patient game that Winnipeg wants to bring on the road.
“it’s a hockey cliché, but it’s doing all the simple things,” said Ehlers. “And not just doing them at home or on the road, but doing them every single time you step on the ice. You might chip it in and go get it instead of trying to make plays at the blue line all the time and turning it over – especially in a building like this, you can’t have turnovers at the offensive blue line.
“In general, playing the right way gets you a long way.”
No matter the style of play, however, the Jets are confident in their ability to stick to the structure that has them atop the Western Conference.
“You have to be able to win games different ways,” said Morrissey. “We’ve tried to just be consistent - regardless of the score, regardless of the opponent – in the way we play and our structure, the habits we have as a group.”
Puck drop is set for 6 pm CT.