The Winnipeg Jets take on the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.
The Winnipeg Jets will hit the ice in San Jose at 9:30 PM central for a test against the Sharks from SAP Center in the first stop of a three-game road trip through Western USA.
Red-hot through the month of December (10-1-2), Winnipeg's lone regulation loss of the past calendar month came on December 12th in San Jose against the very same Sharks (2-1).
The Jets will look to exact some revenge for that uncharacteristic loss against a team that was - at that point - the club with the league's worst record. Since that point, Winnipeg has gone 7-0-2 and have remained atop the Central Division.
The Sharks, on the other hand, have lost eight-straight games since that one-goal victory over the Jets last month. Yes, San Jose is 0-8-0 since December 13 and has fallen back into last place league-wide.
Being game No. 1 of the Jets' mentors trip, getting the dads and other emotional support leaders fired up off the bat will be critical in the first set of a back-to-back with the Sharks and Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
Both games feature 9:30 PM central start times, before Winnipeg concludes its three-game trek with a Central Division tilt against Arizona on Sunday at 6:00 PM.
There are no expected changes for Winnipeg, personnel-wise, as Jets TV reporter Mitchell Clinton reports on-site that the team will use the same line combinations that it finished Tuesday's game with - meaning Vladislav Namestnikov will remain skating alongside Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabe Vilardi, while Mark Scheifele will lineup with Cole Perfetti and Alex Iafallo. All else remains the same.
Winnipeg Jets expected line combinations for Thursday, January 4 vs. San Jose:
Perfetti-Scheifele-Iafallo
Ehlers-Namestnikov-Vilardi
Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton
Barron-Toninato-Jonsson-Fjallby
Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Schmidt
Hellebuyck
Injured: Kupari, Heinola, Gustafsson
Healthy Scratches: Stanley, Chisholm