Jets looking for consistency as Ducks pay a visit

Anaheim Ducks left wing Brock McGinn (26) vies for the puck with Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon (5) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023. (Alex Gallardo/AP Photo)

With the playoffs getting closer every day, the Winnipeg Jets are working to get better at one thing – consistency.

The month of March has been a bit of a rollercoaster for the team – starting with back-to-back wins on the road in Carolina and Buffalo, then split results in a home and home with the Seattle Kraken, followed by a blowout loss to the Vancouver Canucks, a shut out win against the Washington Capitals and capped off with a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Central Division rival Nashville Predators.

"Every day you're searching for consistency, whether it's in a game, whether it's in a stretch of games. Every team wants consistency. Not every game is going to go the way you like, and not every stretch of games is going to go the way you like. It's a way of how you bounce back and that's how you show your character and what you're made of," said Jets forward Mark Scheifele.

That next step towards consistency will happen against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. The Ducks coming off a 2-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

"Anaheim gave them everything they could handle last night," said Jets Head Coach Rick Bowness. "It's a very determined group. It's a hard-working group. They've got enough skill to do some damage if you let them. They're getting great goaltending. So it's going to be a very tough game because there's no quit in that group."

Bowness would like to his team get the jump early in the game Friday and try to grab a few goals.

"When you're playing a team that has nothing to lose, like they have, and the longer they hang into a game, the more hope they have to win the game. So it'd be nice for us to get off to a good start."

Scheifele will be back in the lineup for Winnipeg, after missing Wednesday's game due to the flu.

There has been a bug floating around the team as of late and Scheifele said he started to feel it during the morning skate on Wednesday.

"I was like, 'Oh, something's not right.' And I had to pretty much race off the ice to call the dinosaurs. So yeah, it wasn't fun," said Scheifele.

He will be back on the top line with Kyle Connor and Alex Iafallo will move up from the second line. Meanwhile, Nikolaj Ehlers will be on the second line with Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli.

Bowness said they made the Ehlers, Iafallo swap to try and get Toffoli going a bit.

"I want to see what Nik looks (like) those two, with Monahan and Tyler. Give it a lot of speed up there. And if that doesn't work, they've both been told, if it doesn't work we move Nik right back to the right side," said Bowness.

Laurent Brossoit went through his warmup in the starting net Friday and is expected to start against the Ducks. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. CT.