GAME DAY: Jets for Penguins | Winnipeg Airplanes

PITTSBURGH – The Winnipeg Jets play their first two games of All-Star Weekend tonight on the road against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

The Jets (30-12-5) go into the break with a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but tonight's lineup in Pittsburgh will be much different than last night at the Canada Life Centre.

Newly acquired forward Sean Monahan is expected to make his Jets debut along with Cole Perfetti and Nicola Ehlers – based on how the past two days of practice have looked – and Mark Scheifele, who has missed the last six games with a low score. As he said Sunday after practice in Winnipeg, the injury is also “ready to rock.”

Pittsburgh entered the break with three losses in their last four games, but beat Monahan's former team, the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 in overtime in their final game before the All-Star holidays.

Monahan didn't get a morning skate, but head coach Rick Bowness has no doubt the 29-year-old Brampton, Ontario product will be in the lineup.

“I told the guys this morning that I don't care if they skate in the morning anymore. I was surprised that a lot of guys went out like they did,” Bowness said. “Sean obviously didn't think he should go. I told him, “If you don't skate in the morning, I'm fine with it.”

After two practices at the new center, Ehlers is looking forward to playing with Monahan, especially with how those first two skates went.

“Honestly, it was easy. “He is a very smart player, very skilled, a great passer,” said Ehlers. “He reads the game very well and can shoot. For me and (Perfetti), it's just a matter of finding open spaces where he can put it and we skate. It was great, he's obviously a great player.”

Many aspects of Monahan's game fit what the Jets need — including his ability to play the bumper spot on the power play — but Brenden Dillon said the center's ability in the defensive zone is also something special.

“Centers are as close to D-men as you can get. They can actually slide backwards. We joke with the forwards, it's a lot tougher at the back,” Dillon said.

“For Sean, I played against him for years. I respect his game. He's a 200-foot player who will help us offensively and defensively.”

PROJECTED LIST

Here's how the Flyers are expected to look against the Penguins tonight, and Connor Hellebuyck started in goal:

Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi

Perfetti-Monahan-Ehlers

Niederreiter-Lowry-Appleton

Barron-Namestnikov-Yafallo

Morrissey-DeMelo

Dillon-Pionk

Samberg-Schmidt

OUT OF BREAK

While some players left to get some sunshine and vitamin D, others stayed closer to home during the player break and All-Star weekend.

But regardless of where they were, rest was an important aspect of the week.

“The break came at a good time for us. Obviously, we had a little bit of a fight with some of the guys that were missing,” Dillon said.

“I think we're a healthy team. This might be our healthiest game since the first game of the regular season. Whether it's with friends and family or time away from the rink – it's been great to recharge and we're excited about this push.”

Dillon left Winnipeg's final game before halftime with an upper-body injury in a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a full participant in both practices and Tuesday morning's skate.

“You're never going to be 100 percent in this league when you play 82 games over a long period of time,” Dillon said. “Right now I feel great, I feel as close to 100 percent as I can.”

It's one of those big moments in the season where the game takes another step as the regular season enters the third quarter. It's harder to score, it's harder to win pucks, and it's harder to score.

“Tonight is a perfect example. “Pittsburgh needs to win a few games to get back into the playoffs,” Bowness said. “There will be many such games. It's now a battle for position, to get in and hold your ground. The games are getting harder.”

DANISH RESPECT

Nikolaj Ehlers has played 570 games in his National Hockey League career, but tonight's fellow Dane hit the big mark in Pittsburgh's overtime win over Montreal.

Lars Eller, who won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018, played his 1,000th NHL game that night, becoming the first player from Denmark.

Ehlers and Eller were teammates at the 2016 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship.

“We are not a big country, and in hockey we are a very small country. To have guys like Frans Nielsen – he was just shy of 1,000 (925 games) – and for Lars to now be the first Danish guy to reach 1,000 games is very impressive,” Ehlers said. “Obviously, Lars has been through everything in this league. He is a very good two-way center who can be thrown anywhere. He is a guy that all the young kids in Denmark love and adore, including me. It was a great moment.”

— Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com

***READ MONDAY'S READING***