Hutchinson will be in goal for the Jets tonight against the Caps

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This article was published 25/11/2015 (3634 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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WASHINGTON — The Winnipeg Jets are back at it against a top-flight opponent tonight at Verizon Center.

They’ll face the Washington Capitals (6 p.m., TSN3, TSN1290), who at 14-5-1 are hot in the chase of the New York Rangers. The Rangers share the NHL’s overall lead in points, not to mention top spot in the Metropolitan Division.

The Jets begin their three-game road trip after a 2-1-0 stay at home against middle-of-the-road or bottom clubs.

That homestand ended with a disappointing 4-1 loss to Colorado on Monday, but after having played eight of the previous nine on the road, it had some value.

“I think we just got our feet back under us,” Jets defenceman Adam Pardy said after this morning’s brief skate at Verizon Center. “There was a long stretch on the road, seemed like we were on the road for three weeks. It was just nice to be home and have that routine of being home.

“Sometimes it’s all you need, clear your head and get back to doing things we do.”

Jets captain Andrew Ladd said the benefits of that time at home are starting to show up in the team’s game.

“I think you can feel it in practice, the confidence out there,” Ladd said today. “We’re snapping the puck around and back to the way we move the puck and the way we’re moving our legs.

“We’ll try to build off the good things we did in the last game against Colorado and we know we have a tough test tonight and we’ll need to be ready.

“It feels like we got a bit of energy from that homestand, whether it was the rest or downtime, so hopefully that helps us in the next three games.”

One of the things that the Jets have focused on in the last number of days is their own identity.

“We got back to having some success in some of the things we were working on in those games,” coach Paul Maurice said today. “We started to see it in St. Louis (Nov. 16) but we got back closer to a game we want to play and that we can work on and understand and communicate ideas about.

“It’s a little closer where we want to try to get to.”

Maurice said the Jets have improved their quickness and are moving the puck better. But he also said the NHL’s third-worst team in goals against average is not as quick as it needs to be defensively.

“We’ve cut down on the guys getting behind our D and cut down on some of those stretch breaks we were probably giving from Montreal through to Nashville (Nov. 1 to Nov. 14),” he said. “There were too many of them.”

Against the offensively potent Caps, who had scored three more goals but allowed 24 fewer than the Jets, awareness will be a big factor in tonight’s game.

“No doubt they have a lot of skill and a lot of guys who can score off broken plays,” Pardy said. “Just give them a bit of room and a bit of time and space in the offensive zone and they can get shots off pretty quick.

“They have a lot faceoff plays, try to roll guys and get shots on net quick. So you always have to be aware.”

Michael Hutchinson gets the call in goal for the Jets tonight.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca