PHILADELPHIA — The break is over and the fun is about to begin.

As the Winnipeg Jets face the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center, there’s a sense of anticipation in the air.

The Jets’ collective struggles this month have been well documented, but the team seems to be refreshed by the All-star break and we’ll see if that carries over into the games.

This four-game swing could go a long way in determining whether or not the Jets can stay afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff push.

“We have to be better on the road, especially on this trip, playing against division teams — it’s going to be huge for us,” said Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec, who gets the start in goal and will be opposed by Ilya Bryzgalov. “We’re still there. Pretty much every team is battling for a playoff spot. Nobody is really out.

“It’s going to be a battle. It wasn’t different the last couple of years. It was the same thing.”

However, the Jets are hoping for a different result during the stretch drive, compared to what happened to the Atlanta Thrashers during the past few stretch drives.

Finding a way to get this portion of the trip on the right foot is all the Jets are focusing on at this point.

“We’ll worry about the next game after we worry about the game tonight. We can’t start thinking down the road, we don’t have that luxury. Every point is vital to us,” said Jets winger Blake Wheeler. “It’s not worrying about the big picture too much and just getting this thing going in the right direction and creating momentum for our team. Sometimes that’s a tough thing to do when you’re in a bit of a rut collectively. It’s important to focus on the things you can control: going out there and having good shifts, one after another. If you do that, you’re going to create momentum your way, sooner or later pucks are going to start going in the net and we’re going to start winning games and kind of getting that good feeling back in our locker room.

“It’s a frustrating thing and it’s very difficult sometimes to get your mind out of it, but it’s important to have the right mindset, the right attitude. Then normally the results fall into place.”

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?

“Everyone comes back from the All-star break refreshed and it’s down to business now,” added Jets centre Bryan Little. “It’s the final 32 games of the season and every game is a big game. Consistency is going to (play) a big part if we do make the playoffs or we don’t.”

The Jets are 22-22-6 (10th in the East), while the Flyers are 29-14-5 (4th in East), but are searching for their first win in three tries in the four-game season series, as the Jets earned a 9-8 win at Wells Fargo Centre in October and a 6-4 win at MTS Centre in November.

Here are a few of the storylines we’ll be keeping a close eye on this evening:

1) Can Eric Fehr stick in the Top-6?
It looks like another good chance for the Winkler product to get out of his funk, as he’ll open the game on a line with Nik Antropov and Kyle Wellwood, two gifted passers. Fehr is a shooter and while he only has one goal and two points in 26 games this season, he’s determined to end his personal dry spell. He’s had a few opportunities to play on the top two lines, but this might be his best one yet. To top it off, he’ll be playing his natural position of right wing (he’s played mostly left wing in his other opportunities).

2) Rest or rust?
As refreshing as the All-star break can be, players admitted it was a bit of a struggle during the first skate back. That rust was mostly shaken off during the morning skate on Tuesday, but you never really know what to expect when both teams have been mostly off the ice for a significant period of time. Throw in the fact these two teams have combined for 27 goals in two games and you get the feeling it could be another highly entertaining tilt.

3) Who is ready to carry the offensive load?
The subject of goal scoring (and lack thereof) is being beaten to death, but until the Jets find a way to start putting up more than a goal or two per game, the questions will loom. With Evander Kane still on the shelf with a concussion, captain Andrew Ladd is the active leader with 16 goals, while Bryan Little is the only other Jet in double digits. We understand several are on the cusp, but it’s clear the Jets need production throughout their lineup in order to turn things around.

As far as the lineups go, it looks like Jaromir Jagr is going to be back in for the Flyers — at least that’s what he was telling reporters on Tuesday after the morning skate. He’s been hindered by a groin injury.

But Chris Pronger, Danny Briere and James van Riemsdyk remain on the sidelines for the Flyers.

Here’s how we expect both teams to start on Tuesday:

Winnipeg Jets
Andrew Ladd-Bryan Little-Blake Wheeler
Kyle Wellwood-Nik Antropov-Eric Fehr
Tanner Glass-Jim Slater-Chris Thorburn
Spencer Machacek-Aaron Gagnon-Antti Miettinen

Defence pairings
Toby Enstrom-Zach Bogosian
Johnny Oduya-Ron Hainsey
Mark Stuart-Randy Jones

Goalies
Ondrej Pavelec
Chris Mason

Flyers Gameday lines
Scott Hartnell-Claude Giroux-Wayne Simmonds
Matt Read-Brayden Schenn-Jaromir Jagr
Sean Couturier-Max Talbot-Jakub Voracek
Jody Shelley-Ben Holmstrom-Tom Sestito

Defence pairings
Kimmo Timmonen-Braydon Coburn
Marc-Andre Bourdon-Matt Carle
Erik Gustafsson-Andrej Meszaros

Goalies
Ilya Bryzgalov
Sergei Bobrovski

NEW YORK — Greetings from the Big Apple, where the Jets will attempt to snap their nasty 0-for-7 streak in the second half of back-to-backs against the Rangers.

If you’re sick of hearing about Winnipeg’s struggles in back-to-backs, you’re not alone. The players are sick of answering questions about it, and we’re sick of asking them about it.

The Jets need to find a way to come out with energy. They simply haven’t in other second halves of back-to-backs. The Rangers are going to jump all over them, and the Jets need to find a way to respond.

A few notes …
• The Jets recalled forward Aaron Gagnon from St. John’s today, presumably because someone is hurt. Then again, the way the Jets are struggling, it wouldn’t be crazy if they popped someone fresh into the lineup.

• The Jets could be five points out of a playoff spot after tonight if everything goes badly for them. Then again, they could be only one out if they can win. That makes it seem like a pretty big game.

• Rangers defenceman Ryan McDonagh, who was slammed into the boards by Andrew Ference on the weekend, is expected to play tonight.

• Pretty much everyone has an opinion on what Tim Thomas did Monday, blowing off Boston’s trip to the White House because he doesn’t like the way the U.S. governments are doing business these days. Hey, if nothing else, he put hockey on the map a little more.

• I saw an actor walking down the street today who was very familiar, but I don’t know his name and I don’t know what movies he’s been in. If only there was an app that could help me identify him.

• Here are tonight’s projected line combinations, although the Aaron Gagnon recall leaves things up in the air for the Jets …

JETS
Forwards
Alex Burmistrov, Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd, Nik Antropov, Kyle Wellwood
Tanner Glass, Jim Slater, Chris Thorburn
Eric Fehr, Patrice Cormier, Antti Miettinen
Defence
Toby Enstrom, Ron Hainsey
Johnny Oduya, Zach Bogosian
Mark Stuart, Randy Jones
Goalies
Ondrej Pavelec
Chris Mason

RANGERS
Forwards
Cal Hagelin, Derek Stepan, Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky, Brian Boyle, Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko, Brad Richards, Brandon Prust
Michael Rupp, Artem Anisimov, John Mitchell
Defence
Ryan McDonagh, Daniel Girardi
Michael Del Zotto, Anton Stralman
Marc Staal, Stu Bickel
Goalies
Henrik Lundqvist
Chad Johnson

• Finally, here are a couple of pictures from Manhattan and a link to a preview video for tonight’s game.

Times Square, looking north.

The scene of tonight’s battle between Jets and Rangers.

They’re not lying when they say NYC hotel rooms are tiny.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Jets have owned the Hurricanes this season, winning all three meetings, and they will try to make it four in a row here on Monday night.

Here are a few thoughts leading up to tonight’s game …

• As we wrote about in today’s Sun, Chris Mason gets the start. I could have called that. You could have called that. He’ll probably go out and lose now. That’s usually the way it works, right? (Mason is 3-0 against the Canes this season)

• If you think the last-place Hurricanes are going nowhere, think again. They are tied with the Buffalo Sabres and have been playing smothering hockey as of late. Cam Ward is on fire ever since getting yanked in Winnipeg on Dec. 9 and having a hissy fit on the bench. The Jets are going to have their hands full tonight.

• It was 1 C when I landed in Raleigh yesterday. That’s not fair. There’s no snow, though, so that’s nice. Is it weird that I walk on the grass instead of the sidewalk just to remember what that feels like?

• The voice of the Goldeyes, Paul Edmonds, will do the colour tonight on the Winnipeg’s radio broadcast. Brian Munz’s regular colour man, Shane Hnidy, is chilling with Barack Obama today as the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins are visiting the White House.

• Alex Burmistrov will start the game on the top line with Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler. How long he stays there, who knows? Claude Noel displayed a short leash on Saturday when Eric Fehr started the game in that spot but got the hook after two periods. Burmistrov certainly has the skill, but so does Fehr.

• It sure would help the Jets if they could keep their top line healthy. Little, Wheeler and Kane have all missed action in the last month.

• Then again, the Nik Antropov line, which also consists of Andrew Ladd and Kyle Wellwood, might be Winnipeg’s No. 1 line right now.

• Former Hurricane Andrew Ladd has two of Winnipeg’s three game-winning goals against Carolina this season.

• It’s official: Dustin Byfuglien won’t play in the all-star game. Pittsburgh’s Kris Letang will take his place. No Jets will play in the all-star affair, and you can bet the dressing room is happy about that.

• A handful of fans have made the trip to Raleigh from Georgia, most of them wearing Thrashers gear, although one of them had a Jets hat on. One man and his son came up to Dan Kamal, the former voice of the Thrashers who now works for CJOB, to tell him how much they missed him and the hockey. Jets fans can obviously relate.

• Here’s a look at the projected line combos and defence pairings tonight (Cam Ward gets the start in net for the Hurricanes):

JETS
Forwards
Alex Burmistrov, Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd, Nik Antropov, Kyle Wellwood
Tanner Glass, Jim Slater, Chris Thorburn
Eric Fehr, Patrice Cormier, Antti Miettinen
Defence
Toby Enstrom, Ron Hainsey
Johnny Oduya, Zach Bogosian
Mark Stuart, Randy Jones

HURRICANES
Forwards
Jiri Tlusty, Eric Staal, Tuomo Ruutu
Zac Dalpe, Jeff Skinner, Jussi Jokinen
Pat Dwyer, Brandon Sutter, Andreas Nodl
Chad LaRose, Tim Brent, Anthony Stewart
Defence
Tim Gleason, Jamie McBain
Jay Harrison, Justin Faulk
Derek Joslin, Bryan Allen

It was a wild one at MTS Centre on Saturday night as the Winnipeg Jets tried — and failed — to make up some ground in the race for top spot in the Southeast Division.

The Jets found a way to fight back from a 2-0 deficit and even the score but held the lead for only 57 seconds before getting a late rally from a slumping Alex Burmistrov to force overtime and secure a point.

However, the Jets gave up three goals in seven rounds of the shootout and could only score twice, ultimately falling 4-3 to the Florida Panthers, who snapped an eight game road losing skid (0-4-4) and moved back into first place in the Southeast Division standings — two points up on the Washington Capitals (who face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday) and four up on the Jets, who are 22-20-6 for 50 points.

“You know what, we got a point and we will go on that note,” said Jets head coach Claude Noel. “We’ll move forward off of this. Early in the game, I didn’t think our best players were our best players. We certainly struggled in a lot of areas. But you’re going to have nights like that, it’s the way it goes. You’d love to be perfect and it would have been nice to get the two points in the shootout, that would have capped the evening, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“Every loss is not is not a step back and every win is not a step forward. You play 82 games and you’re going to get these games. I certainly wouldn’t look at it as a step back.”

The Jets were saying all the right things afterward, focusing on the positives but at the same time realizing it was an opportunity/point lost to a Panthers team that had lost 10 of 13 overall but got a brilliant goaltending performance from backup Scott Clemmensen.

“Any time you battle back, it’s more of a point gained,” said Jets defenceman Zach Bogosian. “But we’re aware, obviously, that the turnovers ended up in the back of our net. We just have to make sure we’re eliminating those. But we didn’t give up, right until the end.”

Players also correctly pointed out that the Jets showed some character in battling back, while noting each and every point counts in this tight chase for a playoff spot.

Valid points on both sides of the coin.

The combination of Clemmensen in goal and the dangerous Kris Versteeg (who has 42 points in 46 games) up front were the two biggest reasons the Panthers won.

Clemmensen finished with 41 saves and made head coach Kevin Dineen look like a genius for playing him instead of going back with starter Jose Theodore on back-to-back nights after a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday at United Center.

Versteeg, meanwhile, is probably glad the Jets will be staying in the Southeast Division for another year, due to delays in the realignment proposal that was passed by board of governors but not yet given the seal of approval by the NHLPA.

Despite going into the game with only one assist in his past nine games, Versteeg continued to torment the Jets, finishing with two goals, an assist and a marker in the shootout to cap a spectacular night and give him five goals and seven points in two games at MTS Centre this season.

We dealt with the turnover issue in the game analysis column (right here if you missed it: http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/01/20/jets-vs-panthers-live-blog), so let’s go into Saturday night’s other interesting events:

1) The line of Andrew Ladd, Kyle Wellwood and Nik Antropov is reinvigorated

After combining for two goals and six points in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres, the trio got two more goals from Antropov, two more assists from Wellwood and a helper from Ladd to give them five points on the night and 11 in the past two games. With Evander Kane leaving the lineup with a concussion and on the shelf indefinitely, getting contributions throughout the roster is critical. The Ladd line is doing its part, but others need to step up in Kane’s absence.

Antropov scored a nice goal on the power play, then added another at even strength that saw him skate over the blue-line, fake the pass and cruise into the slot before burying his shot for his eighth of the season.

“It was a good play by (Ladd), he passed the puck to the right side and then drove the net,” Antropov said afterward. “I had Wellwood open and Mark Stuart open, normally I would pass, but this time, the defence was backing up and backing up and in the goalie’s face, so I just decided to be a little patient. I made a move to the middle and fortunately, it went in.”

Antropov has five points in his past three games, leaving him with eight goals and 25 points in 40 games this season.

2) Zach Bogosian didn’t miss a beat

After missing five games, the smooth-skating blue-liner played like he didn’t enjoy sitting out. He was flying from the first shift on, finishing with 25-plus minutes of action. He also managed nine shots on goal, though he was somehow kept off the scoresheet.

“I felt good, I kind of got into a rhythm out there and anytime you’re hopping over the boards almost every other shift, it’s a good feeling,” said Bogosian. “It’s good to be back. I was firing the puck and it looked like the boys were looking for me to shoot.”

3) Is this Alex Burmistrov’s time to shine?

With Kane on the shelf, the Jets obviously need someone to skating alongside Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler. Winkler product Eric Fehr got the first chance on Saturday, he didn’t get a shift in the third as Claude Noel made it a three-line game, and finished with no shots in 9:31 of ice time. Burmistrov, who had been mired in a serious slump, scored the equalizer at 13:45 of the third period, converting a nice cross-ice feed from Toby Enstrom. After a strong offensive start to the campaign, Burmistrov has been mostly relegated to fourth-line duty of late and has only produced three goals and four points in his past 18 games (including Saturday’s goal, which snapped a 10-game goal-less drought). You knew there were going to be growing pains for the 20-year-old Russian in his second NHL season, but if the Jets can get him going again, it would obviously be to their benefit. Burmistrov now has nine goals and 18 points in 44 games this season.

The Jets play their final two games before the All-star game on the road, Monday in Carolina against the Hurricanes and Tuesday against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

“We just have to get as many points as possible and then take a little bit of a break to mentally and physically rejuvenate and then come back ready to go,” said Bogosian.

The big news Saturday morning was that the Winnipeg Jets would be without left-winger Evander Kane, who has been diagnosed with a concussion.

That’s another significant blow for the Jets, who have been dealing with injuries all season long.

Kane hasn’t scored in 10 games, but was very involved in Thursday’s 4-1 win, generating plenty of scoring chances with his speed, recording a game-high six shots on goal.

That’s 18 goals and 31 points out of the lineup and as head coach Claude Noel said Saturday, with concussions you simply don’t know if it’s going to be a few days or a few weeks before Kane is back in the lineup.

The Jets will monitor the situation on a daily basis, but it’s almost certain Kane won’t play again until after the NHL All-star break.

Noel also said that forward Tim Stapleton will miss Saturday’s game with a “nagging” lower-body injury.

Look for Antti Miettinen and Patrice Cormier (recalled from St. John’s) to draw in up front and for Eric Fehr to start with the top line.

Fehr has a goal and two points in 23 games this season and this could be the golden opportunity to play some extended Top-6 minutes he’s been longing for and perhaps find some offensive rhythm.

On the back end, Zach Bogosian will be back in after sitting out five games with a lower-body injury.

Based on the morning skate, it looks like Randy Jones will stay in and Mark Flood will be a healthy scratch.

Ondrej Pavelec gets the call in goal for the Jets and he’s likely to be opposed by backup Scott Clemmensen.

The Panthers are reeling a bit, having lost eight straight (0-4-4) on the road and 10 of 13 overall.

“We need the same energy we had last game,” said Pavelec, referring to Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. “We need every game, especially at this time (of the season). Absolutely, it’s a big game for us.”

Friday night’s game against Chicago Blackhawks was delayed due to stormy conditions in the Windy City and after losing 3-1, the Panthers arrived in Winnipeg after 2 a.m.

“They didn’t have the game they wanted to last night and we have to take advantage of them playing two games in 24 hours and get on them right away,” said Bogosian.

The Jets are looking to improve to 8-0 at home at 11-2 overall when facing a team that has played on consecutive nights.

Just three points separate the Jets from the Panthers (8th) and Washington Capitals, who lead the Southeast Division on the strength of their 25 wins and currently sit third in the East.

“It’s no different than any other game, we’re always trying to get points,” said Jets defenceman Mark Stuart. “It’s so close. Every game you’re playing a team that’s right below you or right ahead of you, with not many points in between. We need points, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.”

The Panthers opted not to skate, but here’s how we expect both teams to start on Saturday (6:10 p.m., MTS Centre).

Winnipeg Jets

Eric Fehr-Bryan Little-Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd-Nik Antropov-Kyle Wellwood
Tanner Glass-Jim Slater-Chris Thorburn
Alex Burmistrov-Patrice Cormier-Antti Miettinen

Defence pairings
Toby Enstrom-Ron Hainsey
Johnny Oduya-Zach Bogosian
Mark Stuart-Randy Jones

Goalies
Ondrej Pavelec (Chris Mason)

Florida Panthers
Tomas Fleischmann-Stephen Weiss-Mikael Samuelsson
Tomas Kopecky-Marcel Goc-Kris Versteeg
Krys Barch-Mike Santorelli-Jack Skille
Sean Bergenheim-Shawn Matthias-Matt Bradley

Defence pairings
Jason Garrison-Brian Campbell
Dmitry Kulikov-Erik Gudbranson
Keaton Ellerby-Mike Weaver

Goalies
Scott Clemmensen (Jose Theodore)

Saturday’s game with the Florida Panthers should teach us quite a bit about this Winnipeg Jets club.

Despite posting a 3-6 record to date during a difficult January, the Jets went into Friday’s action just three points behind the Panthers and Washington Capitals in the chase for top spot in the Southeast Division.

The Caps currently hold down top spot in the Southeast and hold the third seed, based on their 25 wins in 46 games (for sake of comparison, the Panthers have 21 wins and 52 points in 45 games and Jets have 22 wins and 49 points in 47 games).

“It’s another big game for us, everyone is looking forward to it,” said Jets captain Andrew Ladd. “It’s another chance to inch a little closer to Florida and climb up the standings a little more. It’s just more of the same. We’re going to need a big effort from everybody and I’m sure the place is going to be rocking. I don’t think there’s more urgency. I think it should be at its highest for every game right now. We’re in such a big battle. Anytime you can play a team ahead of you, it’s a four-point game and obviously it has huge meaning. We understand the importance in that room and we’ll be ready to go.”

“We understand the magnitude of the game, it’s a four-point game in our division,” added Jets head coach Claude Noel. “We can clearly see who is ahead of us and what we have to do. Our players are ready for the challenge.”

The Jets also realize that while they’ve struggled to play well in back-to-back games (to the tune of 0-7 and getting outscored 31-6), they’ve been on the other side of things when playing teams at MTS Centre that were in action the night before.

When holding the schedule-makers advantage, the Jets are 7-0 (see box at bottom) and have outscored opponents 25-10. Low and behold the Panthers face the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday at United Center.

“We’ve had some success and we hope that continues,” said Noel, who was planning to watch the Panthers game with the Blackhawks on the tube Friday. “As much as we’ve struggled in back-to-backs, other teams are having the same problems when we face them. For us, we’re trying to get everything we can in a positive light so we can take our best foot forward and push through this game against Florida.”

The Jets are expected to welcome back defenceman Zach Bogosian, who has missed the past five games with an undisclosed lower-body injury while Dustin Byfuglien will miss his 13th consecutive game with a knee problem.

The Jets made two roster moves on Friday, returning defenceman Paul Postma to the St. John’s IceCaps of the American Hockey League and placing blue-liner Derek Meech on waivers.

If Meech (limited to two games this season because of a knee injury) clears, he will be assigned to the IceCaps as well.

This is the third of six meetings this season: the Jets defeated the Panthers 4-3 in a shootout back on Oct. 31 at BankAtlantic Center, while the Panthers returned the favour with a 5-2 road win at MTS Centre on Nov. 10.

The Jets previously struggling power play came up with two big goals in Thursday’s 4-1 victory, while the trio of Ladd, Nik Antropov and Kyle Wellwood took care of the 5-on-5 goals, combining for six points.

That contribution was obviously important, but for the Jets to keep pushing forward, they need the top line of Evander Kane, Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little to get back on the board with regularity.

The trio was flying and produced plenty of opportunities on Thursday, but just couldn’t put the finishing touches on a goal.

Kane has now gone 10 games with a goal, Little has only one assist since returning from an ankle injury and hasn’t scored since Dec. 13 (which capped a stretch of scoring in four consecutive games and putting up at least a point in six straight contests).

Wheeler, meanwhile, showed no signs of rust in his return to the lineup on Thursday. He chipped in with an assist on the power play and was using his speed throughout, playing 19 minutes and 35 seconds.

We’ll be shocked if Ondrej Pavelec isn’t back between the pipes for his 38th start and 39th appearance of the season.

With back-to-back games for the Panthers and the team getting stranded overnight in Chicago because of bad weather, ace Miami Herald beat writer believes backup Scott Clemmensen might be between the pipes for Florida.

Here are the seven games the Jets have won at home when facing an opponent that played the night before:

Oct. 22 5-3 win over Carolina Hurricanes (played St. Louis Blues on Oct. 21)

Dec. 3 4-2 win over New Jersey Devils (played Minnesota Wild on Dec. 2)

Dec. 6 2-1 win over Boston Bruins (played Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 5)

Dec. 17 5-3 win over Anaheim Ducks (played Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 16)

Dec. 22 4-0 win over Montreal Canadiens (played Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 21)

Dec. 29 1-0 win over Los Angeles Kings (played Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 28)

Jan. 19 4-1 win over Buffalo Sabres (played Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 18)

The score was one-sided and for the most part, so was the territorial play.

At the end of the day, the only thing that really mattered to the Winnipeg Jets was that they earned a victory (4-1) and came away with two points.

It was a sound showing on a night where they were facing a Sabres team that has now lost 11 consecutive road games and is searching for its game.

The best Sabre on this night was goalie Ryan Miller, who gave up four but would have given up six or eight were it not for some timely saves — especially in the first period when he stopped 18 of 19 — to keep this one close.

The embattled Miller had 29 saves and could have easily merited third star in this one.

However, the Jets got two big goals from their struggling power play to forge ahead after the Sabres came back to tie the game 1-1 on a Drew Stafford marker early in the second.

Toby Enstrom’s PP goal came at 12:55 of the second period — and one shift after the Jets had a potential goal disallowed because of goalie interference under rule 69.3 — and proved to be the game-winner.

“We felt it was coming,” said Jets captain Andrew Ladd. “We were able to get a lot of shots on net and traffic, the big key to that was that they had a little zone time and pressure right before that power play and that goal seemed to get us back in the game.”

Speaking of struggling a bit, the Jets second unit came up with a big offensive effort as Ladd (one goal, one assist), Nik Antropov (one goal, one assist) and Kyle Wellwood (two assists) combined for six points to lead the charge.

“They both seem to create a lot and we just haven’t seemed to get one by (the opposition), so for Welly to get a couple of assists and Antro to get a big goal, it’s nice and hopefully there’s a lot more to come,” said Ladd, who now has 16 goals and 24 points in 47 games this season.

Antropov’s goal was his sixth of the season and first since Dec. 20, leaving him with 23 points in 39 games.

After going six consecutive games without a point, Wellwood now has four assists in his past three games to give him eight goals and 27 points in 47 games.

Ladd’s tip-in gave him 16 goals on the season, good for second on the team. The goal was originally credited to Ron Hainsey, but his first of the season will have to wait a little longer.

“I figured if I celebrated really hard, they might think I tipped it,” quipped Ladd. “I don’t feel bad for Ronnie ever.”

Enstrom’s goal was his third in as many games.

“We’ve been trying to get pucks to the net and score some goals, today it worked fine for us,” said Enstrom.

Ondrej Pavelec was steady and didn’t need to be spectacular, finishing with 25 saves.

The Jets remain 10th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 22-20-5 and 49 points, play their final home game before the All-star break on Saturday against the Florida Panthers, who have 52 points, have slipped to eighth in the standings and will be facing the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night at United Center.

It’s important to note that while the Jets remain eighth, they’re three points behind the Panthers and Washington Capitals (who are currently 3rd in the East on the strength of their 25 wins).

As tough as their 3-6 record in January has been, the Jets remain right in the thick of things and if they somehow find a way to win two of the next three, they’ll be feeling optimistic heading into the All-star break.

“We want to turn it around as soon as possible,” said Jets centre Bryan Little. “We’ve had our struggles on the road lately and to get back at home and play the way we did at home was great. This just seemed like we were a different team altogether. It was a big win for us and hopefully, we can get something going.”

The Winnipeg Jets welcome the Buffalo Sabres in a battle of desperate teams on Thursday at MTS Centre.

After getting drilled 5-1 by the New Jersey Devils in the second game of a back-to-back on Tuesday, this time the Jets should hold the upper hand in that department as the Sabres were beaten 6-2 by the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday and traveled to Winnipeg after the game.

For as much trouble as the Jets have been having this season away from MTS Centre, the Sabres have dropped 10 consecutive road games.

However, only four points separate the two teams in the Eastern Conference standings. The Jets are 10th with 47 points, while the Sabres have 43.

Winnipeg is five points behind the Florida Panthers, who currently occupy eighth and will provide the opposition on Saturday night at MTS Centre.

But that doesn’t mean the Sabres are going to be mailing it in this evening. In fact, it probably makes them a little more dangerous.

“The situation with Buffalo, you know what that’s like,” said Jets head coach Claude Noel. “They’re going to be in an area where they’re a little bit sensitive. They’ve had their struggles on the road and they’ve struggled in a few areas and we need to take advantage of those things. It’s very clear for us.

“As much as we respect their team and like their team, we’re trying to win games. We realize they played last night and we know what back-to-back games are like, we have not had any success. We hope we can take advantage of it. Right now, we’re 2-6 in January and I don’t think anybody is happy about that.”

In lineup news, the Jets will welcome right-winger Blake Wheeler back to the lineup after he missed the past two games with a neck injury sustained after taking a shot from Petr Sykora of the Devils on Saturday afternoon.

Wheeler received an outpouring of support from Jets fans on twitter this week, wishing him a speedy recovery.

“That was awesome to hear,” said Wheeler. “It’s really uplifting. This community has really embraced us. Obviously they want to see me play hockey but they were more concerned about my well-being. That was really nice to see.”

As for the game with the Sabres, Wheeler is expecting a battle.

“We’re two teams that have kind of been going the wrong way, as of late. Both of us need to do the same things,” said Wheeler.

With Wheeler’s return, look for one of Eric Fehr, Kyle Wellwood, Antti Miettinen or Alex Burmistrov to be a healthy scratch. Our best guess would be Wellwood, but that’s merely speculation.

Defenceman Zach Bogosian will miss his fifth consecutive game with a lower-body injury — he wouldn’t say what it was exactly — but Noel hopes to have him back in the lineup on Saturday afternoon.

No update was provided on Dustin Byfuglien, who will miss his 12th consecutive game with a knee problem.

The Sabres opted not to skate, so we’re not entirely sure about their lineup.

Ryan Miller is expected to get the call in goal and he’ll be opposed by Ondrej Pavelec.

“We need to jump on them right away and play with energy,” said Pavelec. “We’ve got to be ready for them. It’s not going to be an easy game. There’s no easy games in this league.”

The Jets and Sabres have each won once in the season series so far, with the Sabres earning a 6-5 overtime win back on Nov. 8 and the Jets turning the tables and winning 2-1 in overtime on Jan. 7 on a goal from Johnny Oduya.

“They’ve got a lot of firepower up front and they’re a tough opponent on the power play,” said Oduya. “We’ve had evenly-played games when we played them and it’ll be the same tonight. All the points are very important. There are a couple of games left before the break. We want to finish off good and get that good feeling going into the (All-star) break.”

Here’s what we expect the Jets lineup to look like, as Antti Miettinen will be a healthy scratch for the first time since he was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Paul Gaustad was unable to go for the Sabres and will be replaced by Cody McCormick. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff has thrown his lines in a blender in an effort to try and spark his group.

Winnipeg Jets

Evander Kane-Bryan Little-Blake Wheeler
Andrew Ladd-Nik Antropov-Kyle Wellwood
Tanner Glass-Jim Slater-Chris Thorburn
Eric Fehr-Alex Burmistrov-Tim Stapleton

Defence pairings
Toby Enstrom-Ron Hainsey
Johnny Oduya-Mark Flood
Mark Stuart-Randy Jones

Goalies
Ondrej Pavelec (Chris Mason)

Buffalo Sabres

Nathan Gerbe-Derek Roy-Drew Stafford

Thomas Vanek-Jochen Hecht-Jason Pominville

Ville Leino-Luke Adam-Patrick Kaleta

Brad Boyes-Matt Ellis-Cody McCormick

Andrej Sekera-Tyler Myers

Jordan Leopold-Mike Weber

T.J. Brennan-Marc-Andre Gragnani

Ryan Miller (Jhonas Enroth)

So the search to find out what might make the Winnipeg Jets tick in the second game of a back-to-back remains a so-far-unsolvable mystery.

A near-perfect road game in Ottawa in a 2-0 triumph over the Senators was followed up by a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at Prudential Center, leaving the Jets a miserable 0-for-7 in the back end of consecutive games this season.

The Jets played a fairly sound road period in the first before Toby Enstrom turned the puck over, leading to an Ilya Kovachuk breakaway and subsequent goal with 1:01 left in the frame.

A deflating goal to be sure, but the back-breaker came on Petr Sykora’s seeing-eye shot 1:32 into the second, a marker that compounded Enstrom’s mistake and made it an uphill battle for a team that’s been struggling to score goals.

David Clarkson added a bad-angle goal and Kovalchuk capped a two-goal performance with a laser-beam on the power play that chased Chris Mason at 7:38 of the second and completed a stretch of three goals in 6:06 for the Devils.

While it’s true Mason gave up four goals on 15 shots and wasn’t as sharp as he was in Monday’s shutout, don’t think for a second that Claude Noel did the wrong thing by rewarding his backup. (I’m not just saying this because I endorsed Noel going back with Mason on twitter after Monday’s game either).

The simple fact is Mason deserved the shot to start consecutive games and he wasn’t the main reason the Jets lost.

The other important thing about giving Mason another start is that Pavelec — who stopped four of five shots he faced in just over 31 minutes of work — will be fresher as this busy stretch continues Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres, who are enduring some struggles of their own.

The Jets are in the midst of a six games in nine day stretch and at some point, Pavelec (who has started 37 games and appeared in 38 of 46 so far) needs a breather. Sure he came on in relief but facing five shots in just over half a game wasn’t an overly taxing workload.

Besides, with four more games before the All-star break, chances are that Pavelec is probably looking at making at least three of those starts. He’ll be getting plenty of work.

And for those who think Mason’s confidence will be shaken after Tuesday’s performance, give your head a shake.

The guy is a 35-year-old veteran and the last time he gave up four goals (against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 5), he came back with a shutout 11 days later.

After playing on consecutive nights, the Jets return home to face a Sabres team that is playing in Chicago against the Blackhawks on Wednesday and will travel to Winnipeg after the game.

The Sabres are dealing with some storm clouds hovering around them, including a nine-game road losing streak they’re taking into the Windy City.

That should set the stage for two pretty desperate teams when the puck drops at 7:35 p.m. at MTS Centre on Thursday night.

NEWARK — You know what? A win by the Jets tonight, regardless of how they do it, would be one of their most impressive of the season.

I say that because logic suggests they don’t have a hope in Newark of winning this game. There’s the whole back-to-back thing and the fact they’re 2-5 in January and they don’t have those Wheeler, Byfuglien and Bogosian dudes.

But what if they win? All the doom and gloom over the last couple weeks would vanish. Florida doesn’t play tonight, so they could be within two points of first in the Southeast (and third in the Eastern Conference) — depending on what Washington does, of course. After that they have home games against the free-falling Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and then a potentially mammoth — yes, mammoth in mid-January — clash with Florida on Saturday night.

Winning on back-to-back nights on the road against a team that has been sitting here waiting for them for two days would be huge.

Here’s what else is happening …

• Not sure whom the Jets are starting in net tonight, since they didn’t have a morning skate, but my vote would be for Chris Mason. He recorded his second shutout in four starts on Monday night, and that deserves another start. Sure, he’s 35 years old and would be playing on back-to-back nights, but Winnipeg’s back-to-backs haven’t exactly gone as planned this season. Mix it up. What’s the worst that could happen?

• The Senators are none too happy with Jets winger Evander Kane, who took a run at defenceman Erik Karlsson in the first period on Monday night. It wasn’t that bad of a hit, although it did warrant a minor penalty. It looked like Kane’s arm or butt end rode up towards Karlsson’s head.

• The Devils will have two new players in the lineup tonight. Centre Jacob Josefson and RW Brad Mills, who were recalled from Albany on Tuesday morning, will both be in the lineup.

• I never knew Tweeting someone’s presence in New Jersey would cause the stir that happened this morning. Habs GM Pierre Gauthier was walking out of our hotel as we were walking in, and suddenly he’s trading for the ENTIRE JETS TEAM and the ENTIRE DEVILS TEAM!!! Don’t get me wrong. I love Twitter, but Gauthier could have been on his way to Disney World for all I know. He and Lou Lamoriello are apparently close, and hockey GMs go to hockey games all the time, don’t they? (In case you’re wondering, someone in Montreal said Gauthier likes Evander Kane. Dicsuss amongst yourselves.)

• Quick story: While we were waiting at Prudential Center security for our media passes to come down from the Devils office this morning, Lamoriello walked by in the hallway, noticed we were probably visiting media, and poked his head in to make sure everything was OK. Nice guy.

• Finally, here’s a look at the projected line combos and defence pairings for tonight. Aside from the goaltender uncertainty, one has to wonder if defenceman Paul Postma might see some action. He’s taken the pre-game skate twice now and is probably ready to play.

JETS
Forwards
Evander Kane, Bryan Little, Alex Burmistrov
Andrew Ladd, Nik Antropov, Kyle Wellwood
Tanner Glass, Jim Slater, Chris Thorburn
Antti Miettinen, Tim Stapleton, Eric Fehr
Defence
Toby Enstrom, Ron Hainsey
Johnny Oduya, Mark Flood
Mark Stuart, Randy Jones
Goalies
Ondrej Pavelec
Chris Mason

DEVILS
Forwards
Zach Parise, Dainius Zubrus, Ilya Kovalchuk
Petr Sykora, Patrik Elias, David Clarkson
Ryan Carter, Jacob Josefson, Mattias Tedenby
Eric Boulton, Steven Zalewski, Brad Mills
Defence
Mark Fayne, Henrik Tallinder
Adam Larsson, Bryce Salvador
Anton Volchenkov, Kurtis Foster
Goalies
Martin Brodeur
Johan Hedberg