"Growing up we were both competitive guys. At the same time we're going out there trying to win two points tonight for your team. If it happens to be a physical contest between the two of us, then we'll just enjoy it and relish that moment."

"I wished him a happy birthday this morning through text, but other than that, I'm just going to go out there and play the game," said Brandon, the younger of the two brothers.

Brandon Tanev will face off with his brother, and Canucks defenceman, Chris for the first time in their NHL careers. Meanwhile, Nic Petan returns to the line-up in his home province after missing the last 10 games with a lower-body injury.

VANCOUVER, BC - With two games to go before the Christmas break, it's fitting that two storylines going into tonight's match up between the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks revolve around family and coming home.

Video: PREGAME | Brandon Tanev

The two brothers met for dinner last night, and their parents made the trip to Vancouver to see the game live.

"My mom says she's cheering for Winnipeg," said Chris after Vancouver's optional morning skate. "We'll see how that goes tonight…. They're excited to watch him play. I've played now for a little bit so I think they're happy to see him succeed and do as well as he's doing right now."

Winners of their last two, the Winnipeg Jets look for their first three-game win streak of the season tonight. The line-up will get a boost with Petan's return. The 21-year old had seven points in 13 games before being sidelined with a lower body injury.

Video: PREGAME | Chris Tanev

"It's great, obviously being home is pretty special. I've been going hard for about a week now and feeling good," said Petan, a native of Delta, BC. "When you get an injury like that it's out of your control. You just have to stay positive. Getting back into it tonight, I want to start where I left off."

Petan skated with Marko Dano and Drew Stafford on the wings at this morning's skate. Head coach Paul Maurice also indicated Petan could be used on the power play tonight.

"He's shown a real ability on the half wall, and has the confidence of the players around him to work the puck," said Maurice. "We went a long stretch of time without left handed shots… and now that they're back we can change the way we look a little bit."

Video: PREGAME | Nic Petan

While the Jets are slowly getting healthier, the Canucks received bad news on the injury front on Sunday. Defenceman Eric Gudbranson will undergo surgery to repair ligament damage in his wrist, and there is no timetable for his return.

The Canucks are 1-2-1 in their last four, and sit four points back of the Jets in the Western Conference standings entering this week.

The two games against the same team, in the same arena, over the course of three days is something Maurice hasn't seen in his career.

Video: PREGAME | Paul Maurice

"It means you don't have to pack quite as much. You can unpack once," said Maurice. "But a real good challenge, and I think fun for coaches. Adjustments in the game, and adjustments over the three days, things that you need to get better at, and all the match ups that happen."

Puck drop is 9 pm CT.

- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com

Video: PREGAME | Drew Stafford

JETS GAME NOTES

Tonight's Game

The Winnipeg Jets conclude their pre-Christmas schedule with a pair of games in Vancouver against the Canucks, starting tonight…The two sides will meet again on Thursday at Rogers Arena…The Jets are coming off a pair of wins at MTS Centre - 4-3 in shootout against the Florida Panthers on Thursday and 4-1 against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday…Patrik Laine had three points (1g, 2a) for the Jets on Sunday, while Nikolaj Ehlers had two goals and Mark Scheifele had two assists…After a four-day hiatus for Christmas following Thursday's game, the Jets resume their schedule on Dec. 27 in Chicago against the Blackhawks.

Three's a Crowd

Sunday's win gave the Jets back-to-back wins for the sixth time this season…Winnipeg has yet to win three games in a row this season…Last season, the Jets won back-to-back games on 10 occasions before finishing the season with a four-game winning streak.

Canadian Pacific

The Jets are 2-4-0 against Pacific Division teams this season…Three of Winnipeg's four losses against Pacific Division teams are against the Edmonton Oilers, who swept the season series (Oct. 23 3-0, Dec. 1 6-3 and Dec. 11 3-2)… The Jets have picked up wins against the Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings…Winnipeg plays five games against Pacific Division teams in December and all are against the three Canadian teams in the division (Edmonton - 2, Vancouver - 2, Calgary - 1)…Last season, the Jets went 12-8-1 against Pacific Division teams.

We Meet Again

This week's two-game series against Vancouver is the last of four occurrences on the schedule in which Winnipeg will play the same team in back-to-back games…The Jets are 2-3-1 in back-to-back games against the same opponent this season…Since relocating to Winnipeg in 2011, the only other time the Jets have played back-to-back games against the same team in the same city was March 21-22, 2013 when they lost 4-0 and 6-1 to the Washington Capitals at MTS Centre.

Late Surge

The Jets have outscored their opposition 42-33 in the third period and overtime this season…With 88 goals scored for the season (excluding shootouts), Winnipeg has tallied 47.7% of their goals in the third period and overtime. The 42 goals scored in the third period an overtime is second only to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have scored 44.

Multi-Point Effort

Patrik Laine's goal and two assists on Sunday gave him his team-leading ninth multi-point game of the season, which leads all rookies in the NHL this season…He's also tied for the fifth-most multi-point games in the league this season…Laine has four multi-point games in his last nine games…Blake Wheeler led the Jets last season with 16 multi-point games…The franchise record for most multi-point games in a season is 32, which was done by Marian Hossa during the 2006-07 season.

Little Contributor

With a 60.0% (12-for-20) success rate in the face-off circle on Sunday, Bryan Little has won a team-leading 56.4% (110-of-195) of his face-offs this season…He's won more than 60% of his face-offs in six of his 11 games this season and more than 50% of his face-offs on nine occasions…Offensively, Little has points in eight of the 11 games he's played this season and six points (3g, 3a) in his last six games…He's on a four-game scoring streak (1g, 3a)…Since he returned to the lineup on Nov. 29, Little is tied for third in team scoring with eight points (4g, 4a) in 10 games.

Special Teams Notes

- The Jets are 1-for-15 (6.7%) on the power play in their last six games.

- The Jets have given up on a power play goal against in each of their last five games and are 10-for-19 (52.6%) on the penalty kill during that time.



Quick Hits

- The Jets have scored four goals in back-to-back games, which marks the first time the Jets scored four goals in a game since a 4-0 shutout of the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 15 - a span of 14 games…Through 34 games, the Jets have scored four or more goals eight times.

- The Jets won 54% of the face-offs against Colorado on Sunday, which marked a season-high sixth consecutive game in which the Jets won more than 50% of the face-offs…Since Dec. 6, the Jets are seventh in the NHL by winning 53.2% of their face-offs.