Game Day Set-Up: Jets @ Stars

When: Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Time: 7:30 p.m. CST

Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

Records: Winnipeg Jets (14-9-5, 33 points, 8th in West), Dallas Stars (10-12-5, 25 points, 11th in West)

Television/Radio: FS-SW, TSN3/ TSN 1290 Radio

On the Horizon: Thursday, December 11th on the road against the Colorado Avalanche (8:00 p.m. CST).

Last Game: 4-3 loss (overtime) to the Anaheim Ducks

Top Scorers:

Winnipeg Jets: Andrew Ladd (10 goals, 11 assists, 21 points), Blake Wheeler (8 goals, 12 assists, 20 points), Bryan Little (11 goals, 8 assists, 19 points), Dustin Byfuglien (7 goals, 6 assists, 13 points), Jacob Trouba (4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points)

Dallas Stars: Tyler Seguin (21 goals, 14 assists, 35 points), Jamie Benn (8 goals, 17 assists, 25 points), Jason Spezza (5 goals, 16 assists, 21 points), Trevor Daley (5 goals, 19 assists, 14 points), Alex Goligoski (1 goal, 12 assists, 13 points)

Game Day Notes:

– The Jets are 4-0-2 in their last six games.

– The Jets record on the road is 8-4-2.

– The Jets have a record of 4-3-1 against teams in the Central Division this year.

– This is the first of four meetings between the Jets and Stars this year. The Jets next play the Stars in Dallas on Thursday, January 15th.

– Jets forward Evander Kane will not play for the Jets tonight as he was suspended for two games on Monday by the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety. Kane was suspended for his hit from behind on Minnesota Wild defenseman Clayton Stoner during the third period of Sunday afternoon’s game. Kane received a five minute major and misconduct on the play.

– According to Brian Munz of TSN 1290 Rado, Michael Hutchinson will start in net for the Jets tonight. In 9 games this year, Hutchinson has a record of 5-1-2 with a .943 Save Percentage and 1.62 Goals Against Average.

– On Monday, the Jets recalled Patrice Cormier from the St. John’s IceCaps of the American Hockey League. Cormier has five goals and five assists in 17 games for the IceCaps this year.

– Dallas has a record of 0-6-3 against Central Division opponents this year.

– According to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News, Kari Lehtonen is expected to get the start in net tonight for Dallas. In 22 games this season, Lehtonen has a record of 10-6-5 with a .904 save percentage and 3.03 Goals Against Average.

– Tyler Seguin leads all NHL players with 21 goals.

– Stars forward Ales Hemsky will be a healthy scratch tonight for the third time this season.

– Milestone Watch: Chris Thorburn is two points shy of 100 career points.

– Red Hot: Jacob Trouba has two goals and six assists in his last six games.

– Ice Cold: Mark Scheifele has no goals over the last eight games (two assists).

– Defensemen Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley lead the Stars in ice time, both averaging 24:33 of ice time per game.

– Stars Top Face-off Guy: Vernon Fiddler (54.0%)

– Jets Top Face-off Guy: Jim Slater (56.6%)

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Dallas: Kari Lehtonen. The former Atlanta Thrasher 1st round pick has struggled this year (3.02 GAA) but Lehtonen is 4-0-1 with a 1.50 GAA and .956 Save Percentage versus the Jets franchise.

– Who’s Under the Microscope for Winnipeg: Mark Scheifele. Scheifele stays here for a second game in a row. With the suspension to Evander Kane, Mathieu Perreault will move to left wing on the second line with Scheifele at center and Michael Frolik on the right wing. Scheifele continues to struggle offensively.

Special Teams Breakdown:

– Dallas PP (15.5%, 22nd in NHL), Dallas PK (79.2%, 21st in NHL)

– Winnipeg PP (13.0%, 27th in NHL), Winnipeg PK (84.1%, 9th in NHL)

Projected Winnipeg Jets Line Combinations:

Andrew Ladd- Bryan Little- Blake Wheeler
Mathieu Perreault- Mark Scheifele- Michael Frolik
Chris Thorburn- Adam Lowry-Matt Halischuk
TJ Galiardi- Jim Slater- Anthony Peluso

Mark Stuart- Jacob Trouba
Ben Chiarot- Dustin Byfuglien
Adam Pardy- Paul Postma

Michael Hutchinson
Ondrej Pavelec

Healthy Scratches: Julien Brouillette, Patrice Cormier

Projected Dallas Stars Line Combinations:

Jamie Benn- Tyler Seguin- Colton Sceviour
Curtis McKenzie- Jason Spezza- Erik Cole
Antoine Roussel- Cody Eakin- Ryan Garbutt
Shawn Horcoff- Vernon Fiddler- Travis Moen

Trevor Daley- Alex Goligoski
Jordie Benn – Jason Demers
Jamie Oleksiak- John Klingberg

Kari Lehtonen
Jussi Rynnas

Healthy Scratches: Jyrki Jokipakka, Ales Hemsky

Injury Report:

Dallas Stars:  Patrick Eaves (lower body), Valeri Nichushkin (hip), Patrick Nemeth (arm)

Winnipeg Jets:  Tobias Enstrom (lower body, Injured Reserve), Grant Clistome (undisclosed), Zach Bogosian (lower body)