Qualifying for the playoffs is essentially a foregone conclusion for the Nashville Predators, but the Winnipeg Jets may have improved their chances with a blockbuster trade.

The Jets will have newly acquired defenceman Tyler Myers and right wing Drew Stafford in the lineup as they go for a third straight win Thursday night against the Predators. 

Viewers in the Jets region can watch all the action LIVE on TSN3 beginning at 6:30pm ct and listen on TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg with coverage beginning at 6pm ct.

Myers is penciled in on the first defence pairing with Tobias Enstrom, while head coach Paul Maurice has Stafford on the second line with Mathieu Perreault and Mark Scheifele.

"Everything has to be proven. Our team, how players fit. It all have to be proven," Maurice said. "Both players can add something to our hockey team, and we're looking forward and excited to get them in here. But we have to prove it.

"We took an NHL player out of our lineup and added two, so we'd like to think we're better I think we'll look at Tyler Myers like the Winnipeg Jets, like Dustin Byfuglien, like Ondrej Pavelec. We'll put him into a structure and see how much that structure helps their games."

Myers won the 2010 Calder Trophy, but he has mostly struggled since. He has four goals and nine assists with a minus-15 rating this season after ranking among the worst defencemen in the league with a minus-26 in 2013-14. Stafford had nine goals and 15 assists for the last-place Sabres, and he's four seasons removed from his career highs of 31 goals and 52 points.

Winnipeg (28-18-10) is in the Western Conference's first wild-card spot and just trying to reach the postseason for the first time since they were the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006-07. The Jets gave those hopes a jolt Wednesday, dealing enigmatic forward Evander Kane and defenseman Zach Bogosian to Buffalo in a seven-player trade.

Kane is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.They landed Myers, Stafford, right wing Joel Armia, the rights to 2014 second-round pick Brendan Lemieux and the Sabres' lowest of their three current first-round picks in 2015.

The Jets have scored 10 goals in four games, claiming six of eight points. Byfuglien scored with 1:00 left in overtime to clinch Tuesday's 2-1 win over Minnesota.

Maurice feels there's improvement, despite the trade.

"We think we've been getting better," Maurice said. "We believe we've been getting better, so there's an excitement."

Winnipeg has dropped two of three to Nashville this season, falling 2-1 on the road Nov. 15 after Pavelec surrendered the decisive tally with 2:02 to play.

That's part of the Predators' league-leading 22-3-1 home record, winning 11 of the last 12 there after beating Tampa Bay 3-2 on James Neal's goal with 33 seconds left in OT on Tuesday.

"I think our guys, certainly they know the standings, they read the standings where everybody is at in the league," coach Peter Laviolette said. "We've talked about our place in life for a long time and always trying to fight for it and stay with where we're at.

"Somebody is always going to try to take something from you, so we have to keep fighting for it."

Neal has 12 goals in 15 games against Winnipeg, matching his scoring total against Chicago for the most against any opponent. He found the net in the most recent meeting, giving him 15 points in 11 contests.

Pekka Rinne, who should be in net, has a 1.83 goals-against average while winning all six of his starts versus the Jets. He had 21 saves against them in the November victory after making 31 saves in a 2-0 road win Oct. 17.

Rinne has won eight of nine home games behind a 2.04 GAA.

Jets' Projected Lineup Tonight

Ladd-Little-Wheeler
Perreault-Scheifele-Stafford
Frolik-Lowry-Thorburn
Galiardi-Slater-Peluso

Enstrom-Myers
Chiarot-Byfuglien
Stuart-Trouba

Pavelec
Hutchinson