Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers left the Winnipeg Jets searching for a way out of their losing streak ahead of Thursday’s visit to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stuart Skinner is confirmed to start for Winnipeg tonight, with the Jets needing much more than a change in goal to get their game back on track.

Tampa Bay also enters off a defeat, having lost 5-4 in overtime to Utah on Saturday. The Lightning have won three of their last five games, giving Winnipeg another difficult test as it tries to find some offence without compounding its defensive mistakes.

Winnipeg has scored seven goals across its previous five games, all losses, and its power play has gone 0-for-14 over that span. The Jets are missing a way to break open tight games, but Adam Lowry’s assessment after the Florida loss went beyond finishing.

“Just some consistency in our game, 5-on-5, short-handed, on the power play, and go from there. That’s been a thing that’s missing,” Lowry said.

Scott Arniel’s criticism focused on discipline and penalty killing after Florida converted three of five power play opportunities.

“Our penalty kill certainly has to be a lot better than it was. [We] made a lot of mistakes, and we took a lot of penalties,” Arniel said. He also said Winnipeg “can’t come out against a team like that and make the mental mistakes that we did.”

For the Jets, staying out of the box would keep a struggling penalty kill from having to carry so much of the night. Winnipeg needs to close space and recover pucks without turning missed assignments into penalties and more extended stretches on their heels.

Kyle Connor has nine goals, three assists, and 52 shots through 12 regular-season games. His finishing and shot volume give Winnipeg an offensive foundation. The story there is the same one it’s been all season, and for much of last season: the Jets need more production from their other three forward lines. On the home side, Nikita Kucherov presents a substantial challenge for the Jets, with four goals and 10 assists through 11 games so far this season.

Skinner is Winnipeg’s confirmed starter, while Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to start for Tampa Bay. Projected lineups are courtesy of DailyFaceoff.com.

Connor – Scheifele – Perfetti
Rosen – Lowry – Vilardi
Iafallo – Bjorck – Mercer
Koepke – Barron – Lambert

Samberg – Pionk
Ferraro – DeMelo
Fleury – Salomonsson

Goncalves – Point – Kucherov
Hagel – Cirelli – Guentzel
Mikheyev – James – Holmberg
Viel – Geekie

Moser – Carlson
McDonagh – Cernak
D’Astous – Lilleberg
Hedman

Arniel discussed possible changes to build line chemistry but did not reveal his plan for the Tampa game. Winnipeg is missing Nick Bjugstad due to a pectoral injury, Garrett Brown because of a lower-body injury, Josh Morrissey because of an upper-body injury, and Vladislav Namestnikov with an undisclosed injury.

Hagel’s and Hedman’s projected inclusion remains subject to their availability. Hagel is a game-time decision, while Hedman is day-to-day with a lower-body issue. Tampa Bay is also without Yanni Gourde because of a hip injury, and Zemgus Girgensons has been ruled out with a lower-body issue.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT on Thursday at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.