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Three Storylines Heading into Jets Four-Game Series Finale Against Flames
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Thomas Hall
Feb 9, 2021, 18:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 10, 2021, 10:48 EST
Following a dominating 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday, the Winnipeg Jets received a four-day break over the weekend, but are now rested and looking to extend their current two-game winning streak during this Tuesday night showdown.
If it seems like these two teams have been playing against each other for two weeks straight, you probably aren’t the only person thinking that as the Jets haven’t faced a different opponent since they lost to the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30. But once this four-game series is completed, they won’t have to take on the Flames until Mar. 26, which is still probably too soon.
Here are three storylines that could impact the Jets’ fourth straight game against the Flames:

1. Pierre-Luc Dubois Makes His Debut

After being traded to Winnipeg on Jan. 23, forward @Pierre-Luc Dubois was forced to quarantine in a hotel room for 14 days once he arrived in Canada, preventing him from participating in any team activities during that timeframe. But now that he’s finished his isolation, the 22-year-old has been able to practice with his new teammates over the last three days – including Tuesday – and is now ready to make his debut in blue and white.
Despite scoring just one goal through five games with the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, Dubois will be aiming to turn things around with his new team and is hopeful he’ll make an immediate impact as well. Paired with teammates @Kyle Connor and @Trevor Lewis, the left-handed center will be tasked with creating a strong connection with his new linemates, although this newly formed trio should be able to generate plenty of scoring chances moving forward.

2. Dramatic Line Shuffling 

With Dubois finally entering the lineup, coach Paul Maurice and his staff were forced to find a way to balance their lineup and they’ve done just that, as their talent now spreads across all four lines. Most notably, forward @Paul Stastny, who some experts predicted would be moved over to the wing, will continue centering the team’s second line and he’s joined by teammates @Blake Wheeler and @Kristian Vesalainen
As for the third line, Connor and Lewis will skate together alongside Dubois on this newly formed unit, although they’ll still probably receive 15-17 minutes of ice time. The club’s fourth line looks pretty familiar to their old third line, as forwards @Adam Lowry, @Mason Appleton and @Mathieu Perreault have all been bumped down to the bottom line.

3. Jansen Harkins Placed on Injured Reserve 

Despite coming off a promising performance against the Flames on Feb. 2 where he won four of his eight faceoff attempts, forward @Jansen Harkins suffered a lower-body injury during that same game and has been sidelined ever since. While the Jets were hopeful he’d be able to avoid a trip to the injured reserve, the 23-year-old just couldn’t surge past this injury and will require additional recovery time.
As a result of this move, Harkins will be forced to miss at least the next seven days, meaning he’ll miss at least the next four games and will be eligible to return on Feb. 16. But unless Maurice shakes up the forward lines at some point next week, it’s unclear if the youngster will even have a spot in the lineup when he’s healthy enough to return.

Lineups: 

Winnipeg Jets:
LWCRW
Andrew Copp

ANDREW COPP
Rating: 72.5#60 LW
Mark Scheifele

MARK SCHEIFELE
Rating: 76.8#19 C
Nikolaj Ehlers

NIKOLAJ EHLERS
Rating: 75.7#20 RW
Paul Stastny

PAUL STASTNY
Rating: 74.8#36 C
Blake Wheeler

BLAKE WHEELER
Rating: 76.3#22 RW
Kyle Connor

KYLE CONNOR
Rating: 79.5#5 LW
Pierre-Luc Dubois

PIERRE-LUC DUBOIS
Rating: 74.6#38 C
Trevor Lewis

TREVOR LEWIS
Rating: 70.1#114 RW
Mathieu Perreault

MATHIEU PERREAULT
Rating: 71.1#96 LW
Adam Lowry

ADAM LOWRY
Rating: 69.2#149 C
Mason Appleton

MASON APPLETON
Rating: 69.5#123 RW
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Nathan Beaulieu

NATHAN BEAULIEU
Rating: 72.1#72 LD
Josh Morrissey

JOSH MORRISSEY
Rating: 74.1#29 RD
Derek Forbort

DEREK FORBORT
Rating: 70.5#109 LD
Neal Pionk

NEAL PIONK
Rating: 75.3#20 RD
Dylan DeMelo

DYLAN DEMELO
Rating: 71.8#69 RD
Calgary Flames: 
WCRW
Matthew Tkachuk

MATTHEW TKACHUK
Rating: 78.0#9 LW
Elias Lindholm

ELIAS LINDHOLM
Rating: 76.5#19 C
Dillon Dube

DILLON DUBE
Rating: 70.3#108 RW
Johnny Gaudreau

JOHNNY GAUDREAU
Rating: 76.0#19 LW
Sean Monahan

SEAN MONAHAN
Rating: 74.4#42 C
Sam Bennett

SAM BENNETT
Rating: 69.6#127 RW
Milan Lucic

MILAN LUCIC
Rating: 70.7#103 LW
Mikael Backlund

MIKAEL BACKLUND
Rating: 75.5#30 C
Andrew Mangiapane

ANDREW MANGIAPANE
Rating: 74.2#36 RW
Joakim Nordstrom

JOAKIM NORDSTROM
Rating: 67.9#150 LW
Josh Leivo

JOSH LEIVO
Rating: 71.7#85 RW
DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Mark Giordano

MARK GIORDANO
Rating: 77.9#6 LD
Rasmus Andersson

RASMUS ANDERSSON
Rating: 73.5#36 RD
Noah Hanifin

NOAH HANIFIN
Rating: 73.3#49 LD
Chris Tanev

CHRIS TANEV
Rating: 71.0#90 RD
Juuso Valimaki

JUUSO VALIMAKI
Rating: 72.6#6 LD

Where to watch/listen:

The puck will drop at 9 pm CT and will be available on TSN 3 along with 680 CJOB.