The Arizona Coyotes are in town tonight as they battle for an extremely important two points in the standings. With Arizona only two points back of Winnipeg, the Coyotes could get themselves back in the wildcard race with a victory. The Jets not only need to fend off the Coyotes, but with so many other teams around the same spot, Winnipeg needs every possible point to try and sneak into the playoffs. This is the final game of a three game homestand where the Jets have gone 2-0 so far. After tonight, Winnipeg hits the road for three straight games as they have an important trip against Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver.

We’ll worry about the road trip later, as for tonight, here’s what to watch for.

As mentioned above, this game is huge for the wildcard race. With Arizona currently sitting at 74 points, they are only two back of Winnipeg who has 76. With Vancouver, Nashville, and Minnesota also jumbled together in the wildcard race, it’s going to be a wild finish to the season.

The important thing about this game is that not only does the winning team gain two points, but they also prevent the other team from picking up points as well. It’s almost like a double victory for the winning club. It’s tough to catch teams at this point in the season because if every team in the wildcard race gets a victory, then nobody is any closer to the playoffs. However, playing someone in that same wildcard race gives the opportunity for ground to be made up.

In short, if Arizona wins, they move into a tie with the Jets. On the other hand, the Jets can get some really great separation if they pick up two points. They would move four points ahead of Arizona with only 12 games remaining.

When looking at the practice lines yesterday, it gave everyone a little bit of a scare to see Scheifele not participating. However, Maurice cleared things up later and stated Scheifele is fine and should be able to play today.

The good news that we found out was that Adam Lowry could make his return to the lineup after missing the last month and a half with an injury.

We will have to see what actually happens come gametime, but Lowry could add a big boost to the bottom six. It will be interesting to see who comes out of the lineup as Bourque was already replaced with Perreault last game. It would seem that Appleton or Shore might be the one to come out, although Harkins could take a seat as well. This definitely gives plenty of options for Maurice to use in the bottom six as they start to get healthy. We’ve seen a number of different line combinations lately, so we will need to wait and see how it shapes up at puck drop.

There’s no question that Kyle Connor is the hottest Jet at the moment. With goals in five straight games, he’s been on fire over the last week. He also currently has the longest active goal scoring streak in the NHL and will tie the longest run in the NHL this season if he scores tonight.

In the last five games, Connor has six goals and two assists for eight points. This recent stretch also ties him for the team lead in points as both Scheifele and Connor now have 71 points this season. Connor’s goal-scoring streak and overall great play as of late will definitely be something to watch for in this game.

The Winnipeg Jets are the most dangerous when they play with speed through the neutral zone. While that may sound like an obvious statement, it was extremely evident in the victory against the Golden Knights. The first goal was a perfect example as Ehlers used his speed to pull everyone towards the crease. He pushed it out in front and got a lucky bounce because of the defensive players rushing to the net to prevent the scoring chance. Winnipeg plays their best hockey when they are able to connect with outlet passes and work the puck quickly through the neutral zone. In the game tonight, make sure to watch the breakout from the defensive zone as that will be the key in generating the quickness through the neutral zone.

With five straight wins on home ice, the Jets aren’t stopping now. They will pickup another victory, 5-2. Connor will light the lamp once again to extend his goal scoring streak and the defense will be strong enough to pick up the win.