5 things to watch for as Jets look to contain the Canadiens

Winnipeg's recent hot streak took a bit of a hit Tuesday night as the Jets fell to the Vancouver Canucks 5-2, snapping their win streak at five games. The Jets (38-24-12) will look to get back on track when they welcome the Montreal Canadiens to town Thursday night in the first of four straight games at MTS Centre. 

The Canadiens (46-20-8) will also aim to get back in the win column after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators Tuesday. The Canadiens had won three straight heading into the game; a streak that included back-to-back shutout wins over San Jose and Carolina.

With that, here are five things to consider heading in to tonight’s game. 

The challenge ahead

The Jets have earned some impressive wins over the last week and a half, beating the likes of league powerhouses Tampa Bay, St. Louis and Washington along the way. But the biggest challenge may just be what lies ahead, including containing a Canadiens team that sits atop the NHL standings with 100 points through 74 games this season.

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“They have really good quickness, puck reads, puck possession and they are very defined structurally in how they play off each other,” said Jets coach Paul Maurice. “There’s not a lot of easy ice.”

And it’s not like things get any easier as the Jets move on to play the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks to round out the homestand, all of which are teams currently in a playoff position. With Winnipeg holding on to the final wild card spot in the West by just two points, even just one loss could prove costly in the standings.

Buff is back

The Jets get a major boost to their lineup tonight with the return of defenceman Dustin Byfuglien. Byfuglien has missed the last nine games with an upper-body injury he sustained in a game against the Ottawa Senators back on March 4.

• Dustin Byfuglien to suit up against Canadiens

“He’s full-go,” said Maurice, who also noted that Byfuglien’s absence from game action along with the stellar play of Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers on the right side could impact how he’s used tonight.

“We’re not going to shift everything back and our focus won’t be getting Dustin 25 minutes. If it happens, it happens.”

Byfuglien will line up alongside Adam Pardy. The two will most likely make up the third pairing for the Jets but expect to also see Byfuglien quarterbacking the blue line on the Jets first power play unit.

Price is right for Jets

The Canadiens have already beat the Jets this season — a 3-0 win at the Bell Centre on Remembrance Day — in a game where the Jets couldn’t find an answer to Montreal goalie Carey Price. Price made 29 saves in the win to record his first shutout of the season — a number that has since grown to 9, which is good enough for a tie for first in the NHL with Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury. 

Price also boasts a league-best 40 wins, goals against average (1.88) and save percentage (.937).

As daunting a task as it has been for teams to beat Price this season, the Jets won’t have that challenge tonight as Canadiens’ head coach Michel Therrien announced Wednesday that Price will get the night off. Instead, Montreal will roll with backup Dustin Tokarski.

In 15 games this season, Tokarski is 6-5-3 with a 2.66 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Winnipeg has yet to face Tokarski so far in his young career, making it an interesting matchup for tonight’s game.

​Home sweet home for Weise

To say Dale Weise is excited to return home to Winnipeg and play in front of family and friends would be a gross understatement.

The Canadiens forward and former Winnipegger admitted he’s had this game circled on his calendar since the release of the NHL schedule, and although it won’t be his first time at MTS Centre, it will certainly be his most memorable.  

“The last time I was there was with Vancouver. I really didn’t get the full effect. I played like a few shifts, so it was a disappointing day,” Weise told the Canadiens official website Wednesday.

“This is something that’s far more special for me, playing in front of friends and family. Everybody knows I grew up a Canadiens fan. They were always Canadiens fans, too. It’s going to be cool to play at home, for sure.”

Weiss has blossomed this season with Montreal after spending the last two and half years in Vancouver. He’s logging more than 12 minutes of ice time per game and has a career-best 10 goals and 28 points through 71 games.

Pav is back

Ondrej Pavelec returns to the net for the Jets after getting Tuesday night off in favour of Michael Hutchinson. Pavelec backstopped the Jets to a 4-1 win over Edmonton on Monday to register his fifth straight win.

He was awarded the NHL’s first star last week, registering a 3-0 record with a goals against average of 0.97 and a save percentage of .970. As impressive as he has been, Pavelec will have to rise to the challenge once again if the Jets plan to escape two points richer in the standings.