No. 3 Jets at No. 2 Oilers
9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS
Winnipeg leads best-of-7 series, 1-0
Pierre-Luc Dubois will return to the Winnipeg Jets lineup for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup First Round against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place on Friday.
The forward missed Game 1, a 4-1 victory on Wednesday, with an undisclosed injury he sustained in the Jets' regular-season finale May 14.
"I'm ready to go," said Dubois, who will play right wing on Winnipeg's second line with Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp. "Watching the game last game, it was fun to see the guys win but it's never fun being in the stands and not being out there and playing with the guys. I'm 100 percent ready to go and really excited for tonight."
Dubois scored 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 41 games with the Jets after being acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 23.
Winnipeg will again be without Nikolaj Ehlers for Game 2. The forward missed Game 1 and the final nine games of the regular season with an upper-body injury; he skated in a regular jersey during the morning skate Friday.
Ehlers tied for third on the Jets with 46 points (21 goals, 25 assists) in 47 games this season.
Teams with a 2-0 lead are 330-51 (86.6 percent) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series, including 4-0 in the first round last season.
Teams with a 2-0 lead starting as the road team are 80-20 (80 percent) winning a best-of-7 NHL playoff series.
Here are 3 keys for Game 2:
1. McDavid, Draisaitl reboot
Edmonton centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the top two scorers in the NHL this season, did not have a point in Game 1, and it's essential they resume their production to spark the Oilers.
In games this season when neither scored a point, Edmonton was 2-6-0. Including Game 1, the Oilers have lost six straight when neither scored a point.
"We've had a lot of [tight games] this year and come out with plenty of goals, so I'm not worried," Draisaitl said. "I think we had enough chances to win [Game 1]. The puck was on our side a lot more than theirs. I think we have to get to the net a little more and make it a little simpler on ourselves and just put pucks there and throw them there, and eventually they're going to go in. We've done it all year."
Coach Dave Tippett wouldn't reveal his lines Friday morning, but McDavid and Draisaitl could play on the same line regularly, likely with Jesse Puljujarvi.
2. Quicker start
Edmonton could use a better start to put more pressure on Winnipeg. The first period of Game 1 was tentative; shots on goal were 6-6. It wasn't until the second period before the Oilers were able to sustain any offense and outshot the Jets 16-8.
"That's something we talked about in the last 10 or 12 games, making sure we coming out with good starts," forward Alex Chiasson said Thursday. "Obviously in the playoffs it's a key part of the game. [In Game 1], it felt like everyone was a bit anxious. I think that's something we addressed today and hopefully tomorrow we get going right at puck drop."
Edmonton was a strong first-period team during the regular season with 57 goals, tied for fourth-most in the NHL with the Vegas Golden Knights and behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (61), Minnesota Wild (60) and Pittsburgh Penguins (58).
The Jets, who were 13th in the NHL with 48 first-period goals, will be looking for a strong start; getting a lead would keep the pressure on the Oilers and potentially keep their frustration level high.
3. Maintaining discipline
Winnipeg will look to play with the same disclipline that helped lead to victory in Game 1.
They took one minor penalty and killed it against the NHL's No. 1 power play during the regular season, when Edmonton was 27.6 percent with the man advantage.
It was the only power play of the game the Oilers were 8-for-27 on the power play (29.6 percent) in nine games against the Jets during the regular season.
"It's a critical part, I would think for both teams, but they finished No. 1 and their power play had caused us a lot of problems this year, so we have an awareness of it," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. "At the same time, you can't play off the man or the puck for fear of taking a penalty because it actually creates more opportunities for penalties. So riding that balance is the key piece."
Jets projected lineup
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Andrew Copp -- Paul Stastny -- Pierre-Luc Dubois
Mathieu Perreault -- Adam Lowry -- Mason Appleton
Dominic Toninato -- Nate Thompson -- Trevor Lewis
Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo
Logan Stanley -- Tucker Poolman
Scratched: Ville Heinola, Sami Niku, Jordie Benn, Kristian Vesalainen, Jansen Harkins
Injured: Nathan Beaulieu (hand), Nikolaj Ehlers (upper body)
Oilers projected lineup
Leon Draisaitl -- Connor McDavid -- Jesse Puljujarvi
Dominik Kahun -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Kailer Yamamoto
James Neal -- Ryan McLeod -- Zack Kassian
Josh Archibald -- Jujhar Khaira -- Alex Chiasson
Dmitry Kulikov -- Adam Larsson
Scratched: Tyler Ennis, Kyle Turris, Joakim Nygard, Gaetan Haas, Patrick Russell, Evan Bouchard, William Lagesson, Caleb Jones
Injured: Kris Russell (lower body)
Status report
Vesalainen, a forward, will come out of the Jets lineup to make room for Dubois. ... The Oilers are expected to dress the same lineup they used in Game 1.
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