The Winnipeg Jets visit the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Thursday, October 15, with both teams coming off wins on Tuesday. Winnipeg beat Minnesota 5-2, while Chicago defeated Pittsburgh 5–3. The Jets got the result they wanted, but head coach Scott Arniel’s assessment of their first-period execution left something to clean up before their next outing.

Josh Morrissey is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Chicago forward Andrew Mangiapane is out with a lower-body injury.

Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and an assist against Minnesota, while Neal Pionk recorded two assists.

“Our detail or our execution getting out of our zone in the first wasn’t very good,” Arniel said.

He credited a quicker second period with getting Minnesota “caught for a couple of long shifts, extended shifts in their end,” wearing down the Wild’s defence. That is a more useful part of Tuesday’s win for the Jets to carry forward, with cleaner exits giving them a chance to spend longer stretches attacking, rather than working to get the puck back.

Minnesota head coach John Hynes also saw more than scoring from Winnipeg’s top line. He described the group as “playing in sync right now” and praised their competitiveness on pucks and responsibility when called upon to defend. The production obviously matters, but that work without the puck gives the Jets something else to build on against Chicago.

Arniel also praised Pionk’s contribution. The coach pointed to his move onto the top power play unit against Minnesota and his vision on Scheifele’s goal as examples of the offence Winnipeg needed from its blue line.

“You saw that vision on Schife’s goal, the play that he made there,” Arniel said. “But we need everybody to have that sorta offensive flair.”

Chicago had plenty of production to lean on in its win over Pittsburgh. Teuvo Teräväinen scored twice and added an assist, Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist, and Anton Frondell collected two assists.

Penguins head coach Dan Muse felt Pittsburgh played “a little bit into the type of game that I think they want to play in terms of making it a track meet.” He connected missed opportunities to possess the puck and come up the ice together with spending more time defending.

For Winnipeg, that is another reason to pay attention to puck management. Making Chicago defend would be preferable to trading chances after hurried exits.

Puck drop is scheduled for Thursday, October 15, at 7:00 p.m. CDT (8:00 p.m. EDT) at the United Center in Chicago.