Once again, the Winnipeg Jets have a chance to clinch a playoff spot tonight. All they need is a single point as the NHL-leading Washington Capitals make their lone visit to Canada Life Centre this evening, or a St. Louis Blues loss in any fashion to the Montreal Canadiens,

Head coach Scott Arniel announced Monday that Gabriel Vilardi will miss the remainder of the regular season due to an upper-body injury sustained in Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. As a result, expect some significant line shuffles in tonight’s contest.

Sunday’s game was a rollercoaster, where Winnipeg dominated Buffalo for 90% of the contest, but James Reimer stood on his head. Despite outplaying the Sabres, the Jets never held a lead once and ultimately fell 5-3 to the last-place team in the Atlantic Division. Winnipeg limited Buffalo to just four shots halfway through the game, but sometimes, the bounces just don’t go your way. Eric Comrie made 12 stops for a .750 SV%, as the Jets’ home point streak ended at eight games (7-1-1).

The Jets thoroughly out-chanced the Sabres, with a staggering 32-9 advantage in scoring chances. High-danger opportunities were 13-2, shot attempts 71-32, and expected goals tilted heavily in Winnipeg’s favor at 3.98 to 1.68.

“Without a doubt,” Arniel said when asked if his team had done enough to win. “Triple the amount of scoring chances. Their goaltender played great.”

One bright spot was Nino Niederreiter, who snapped a 15-game goal drought by getting the Jets on the board with the second power-play unit in the middle frame. However, Niederreiter also took a big hit and crashed into the boards late in the first period. Although he returned to the game and scored his 15th of the season, Arniel confirmed after the game that he was placed in concussion protocol.

The last time Winnipeg and Washington met on February 1st, it was an absolute barnburner. The Jets led 4-2 in the third, but the Capitals stormed back to tie things 4-4, forcing overtime. Josh Morrissey ultimately sealed the win for Winnipeg in the extra frame. If tonight’s matchup is anything like that one, buckle up—it should be a dandy.

Connor – Scheifele – Iafallo

Ehlers – Lowry – Appleton

Niederreiter – Namestnikov – Perfetti

Tanev – Kupari – Barron

Morrissey – DeMelo

Samberg – Schenn

Stanley – Miller

Hellebuyck

Comrie

Ovechkin – Strome – Protas

McMichael – Dubois – Wilson

Mangiapane – Eller – Raddysh

Duhaime – Dowd – Beauvillier

Sandin – Carlson

Chychrun – Van Riemsdyk

Fehervary – Roy

Thompson

Lindgren

Puck drop tonight is at 7:00 p.m. CT, and the game will be available to watch on TSN3.