Time: 8:00 PM EST Venue: Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3C 5S5 / WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- After beating up on the NHL's 98-pound weakling in a pair of back-to-back games, the Winnipeg Jets are moving on to the middleweights and heavyweights. First on the card is the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night and while the .500 club won't remind anybody of the 1984 Edmonton Oilers, they're a few notches up from the last-place Arizona Coyotes, who the Jets beat 4-1 twice Saturday and Tuesday. The Jets, 6-1-3 in their last 10 games and sitting in one of the cat-bird seats in the Central Division, will make true believers of their fans if they can keep their momentum through games with the New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks over the next 10 days. After all, history has shown that the vast majority of teams in playoff positions at American Thanksgiving end up at the postseason dance in the spring. No doubt the Jets will be getting some intelligence on their upcoming opponents from goalie Steve Mason, who signed with the Jets in the offseason after four years with the Flyers. He got off to a rough start but has settled down posting his first win of the season on Saturday in Arizona, lowering his goals-against average to 3.76 and raising his save percentage to .892." I've felt a lot more comfortable in the last couple of starts here," Mason told the Winnipeg Sun. "It was a difficult transition. The first few games didn't go the way I would have liked. With (Connor Hellebuyck) playing the way he is, I haven't been able to get back in the net (often). I've just got to continue working hard and bide my time." "I understand the situation that I'm in. Whenever I do get into the net, I want to make the most of it. The last game in Arizona was a positive step." Hellebuyck, meanwhile, is 9-1-2 with a 2.32 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. The Flyers are hoping to welcome rookie center Nolan Patrick back to the lineup after sitting out nine games with a concussion. The No. 2 selection in this summer's draft starred for three years down the road with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Coach Dave Hakstol said he will make a decision after the morning skate Thursday. The Flyers come to town having not only lost a back-to-back series of their own to Minnesota but being shut out in both games." Sometimes when it rains, it pours when you can't score," goalie Brian Elliott told the Courier Post. "It's pouring on us a little bit right now." The Flyers haven't scored in more than 156 minutes and they're hoping not to make any history during their visit to the Manitoba capital. The franchise hasn't been shut out in three straight games during their 50-year existence. They have, however, been held scoreless in five out of their 18 games this season.
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