The Winnipeg Jets are hours away from a very important Friday night home game, with puck drop coming up shortly after 7 pm CT. Sitting tied at the top of the NHL standings with the Washington Capitals at 94 points, the Jets will be looking to defeat a team that’s just below them in the standings: the Dallas Stars. After acquiring Mikko Rantanen at the NHL trade deadline, the Stars have been on a roll, going 8-2-0 in their last 10 games. The Stars now have come within 8 points (with 2 games in hand) of the Jets for the lead in the Central Division.

One of the questions going into tonight’s game was on the health of both Neal Pionk and Nikolaj Ehlers. The Jets just recently got a fully healthy squad, but Pionk and Ehlers missed a 2nd straight day of practice yesterday. Scott Arniel said he was going to wait until this morning’s skate to provide an update, and now we have some clarity on their statuses. Ehlers is dealing with a minor undisclosed injury, but Mitchell Clinton (a writer for the Winnipeg Jets) confirmed that he will be in the lineup tonight. Despite missing practice the last 2 days, Ehlers said he felt ready to play tonight. In 57 games this season, Ehlers is scoring at a point per game pace, collecting 21 goals and 36 assists.

The news wasn’t as positive for Pionk though, as Scott Arniel confirmed this morning that Neal Pionk is going to be out week-to-week with a lower body injury. I’ve mentioned it before how I wish teams would provide more clarity on the specifics of an injury (like they would years ago), but it seems that upper or lower body injuries are the way that teams go now when reporting and listing injuries. Pionk wasn’t on the ice for morning skate, and following the skate Scott Arniel spoke to the media to provide this update.

During his injury update on Pionk, Arniel mentioned that it will be week-to-week as they’ll continue to monitor his status. Arniel also mentioned that this injury is something that Pionk has been trying to play through recently. The team and the training staff decided that they didn’t want the injury to get any worse, so they made the decision to take a cautious approach and rest him now. It’s tough news for Pionk, who has had a better than expected season so far for the Jets. In 66 games, Pionk has scored 9 goals and 28 assists for 37 points. Pionk sits 1 goal away from tying his career high in goals (10), and 8 points away from trying his career best of 45 points, all while holding a career best +/- of +21.

With Pionk out of the lineup, Colin Miller slots back in on the 3rd defence pairing alongside Haydn Fleury. Luke Schenn makes the jump to the 2nd pairing with Dylan Samberg, which will be an interesting pairing to watch develop chemistry while Pionk is out. The rest of the Jets projected lineup remains unchanged, and no other players are listed on the Jets injury report.

Puck drop for the Stars at Jets game begins slightly after 7 pm CT tonight, and make sure to check back here at Jets Nation for a post game recap on this important Central Division matchup!