The Winnipeg Jets take on the Dallas Stars, looking to all but clinch their place atop the Central Division.
The Jets will be receiving reinforcements to battle the Stars, adding Neal Pionk and Nikolaj Ehlers back into their lineup.
Pionk has been out since Mar. 11 with a lower-body injury. He’s been slowly recovering, taking multiple practices with and without contact before finally deciding to play. He’ll slide back onto the second pairing alongside Dylan Samberg, a pairing that has been dynamite all season long for the Jets.
Ehlers will also be returning, after missing the previous two games. He was hit by the puck twice against the Vegas Golden Knights and has been nursing the injury since. He was considered a game-time decision for those two games but did not play. Now feeling comfortable and ready, Ehlers will rejoin Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti on the second line.
The Jets enter tonight’s game with a 6-4-0 record in their last 10 games. They went 1-2-0 on the three-game road trip before returning home to defeat the St. Louis Blues.
The Stars enter tonight’s game with a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 but are losers of three consecutive games, two of which came in overtime. The Stars blew a three-goal lead with a minute remaining against the Vancouver Canucks before giving up the overtime winner to Kiefer Sherwood.
If the Jets win in regulation tonight, they’ll build a six-point lead over the Stars with three games remaining, meaning they would need to win just one of their last three games or the Stars would have to lose one of their last three. A regulation loss brings the Stars within two points.
The goaltender matchup features two of the top goaltenders in the NHL. Connor Hellebuyck will look to improve on his .924 SV% and 2.02 GAA. Jake Oettinger will be searching for the 37th win of the season, bringing him to a tie with Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM CST at the American Airlines Center.
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Line Combinations: Jets at StarsThe 53-21-4 Winnipeg Jets have hit the ice in Dallas, where they will take on the rapidly climbing 50-22-6 Stars on Thursday evening.
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