The Winnipeg Jets will host the Ottawa Senators Tuesday, and with a win they will stay within a point of the Dallas Stars for the lead of the Central division.

Both the Jets and Senators are missing some key pieces, and depth will be a huge factor in tonight's game. The Jets recalled Arvid Holm as it appears Connor Hellebuyck is dealing with a non-COVID related illness. It isn't expected that Hellebuyck will miss much time, as he will travel with the team during their road trip to Boston and Washington before the NHL's Christmas break.

Currently, the Jets are without Hellebuyck, Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, Nate Schmidt, Mason Appleton, Logan Stanley and Saku Maenalanen.

The Ottawa Senators are without Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Artem Zub and Mathieu Joseph.

December 20th Projected Lines:

Winnipeg Jets:

Perfetti-Scheifele-Kuhlman
Connor-Dubois-Gagner
Barron-Lowry-Harkins
Gustafsson-Stenlund-Jonsson-Fjallby

Morrissey-DeMelo
Dillon-Pionk
Samberg-Heinola

Rittich
Holm

Ottawa Senators:

Tkachuk-Brassard-Giroux
DeBrincat-Pinto-Batherson
Motte-Kastelic-Watson
Kelly-Chartier-Gambrell

Chabot-Zaitsev
Sanderson-Hamonic
Brannstrom-Holden

Talbot
Forsberg
**Starter Unconfirmed**

The Jets could take advantage of a weak Senators group. While the Jets have more missing pieces, they have been proving they can fight through those injuries. Rittich will be tested, and so far this season, Rittich has a 7-4-3 record and a .896 SV%. The Senators offense will be a challenge, especially their powerplay. Good news for the Jets though, the PK currently ranks 5th in the NHL, which is greatly improved from the Maurice saga of the team.

The Jets have most of their production still in the lineup. While Wheeler is a big piece of that, Connor, Scheifele, Dubois and Perfetti can handle that load up front, and the support from Josh Morrissey and potentially Ville Heinola will certainly help.

A win tonight will bring the Jets back within a point of the Stars for first in the division with a game in hand, and keep up with the battle.

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