Vancouver Canucks vs. Winnipeg Jets game day

Tonight, the Jets play their first game after yesterday’s NHL trade deadline. The Jets dealt Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn and Tanner Pearson to the Sabres on Thursday in two separate trades. In return, the Jets acquired a trio of draft picks and two players who should be in the Jets lineup shortly. The Jets won in Winnipeg against the Lightning 4-1 on Thursday, and now the Jets continue their season long eight game home stand with a visit from the Vancouver Canucks.

Tonight, the Jets battle against a team that is 2-6-2 in their last 10 games and is ten points behind 2nd last place in the league standings. The Jets sit 15 points ahead of the Canucks, but they’re still almost officially out reach of a playoff spot, with approximately a 5% chance at making the playoffs. The 27th overall 25-26-10 Winnipeg Jets and 32nd overall 19-36-7 Canucks will clash at Canada Life Centre, with these two teams looking for some positives in the last quarter of games in their disappointing regular seasons.

The Jets and Canucks met twice earlier this regular season. The season series started over two months ago in Vancouver, where the Jets battled their way to a 5-3 win. Winnipeg squeaked out a 3-2 overtime win in Vancouver on February 25th. These two teams haven’t been very evenly matched in their recent matchups, with the Jets holding a 8-2-0 record in the last 10 games against the Canucks. With a win tonight the Jets would sweep the season series (3-0), with no other matchups this season.

The injury report for the Winnipeg Jets now has four names. Neal Pionk has an undisclosed injury and is still currently week-to-week. Nino Niederreiter has a lower body injury and recently underwent surgery which will likely keep him out for the rest of the season. Colin Miller and Vladislav Namestnikov continue to be week-to-week. The Canucks have still too many players to list on their injury report currently (around six total players), with the return times ranging from day-to-day for several players, to “out for the season” for others.

Jets Projected Lineup 

Connor – Scheifele – Iafallo

Perfetti – Lowry – Vilardi

Rosen – Toews – Nyquist

Koepke – Barron – Lambert

Samberg – Morrissey

Fleury – DeMelo

Heinola – Salomonsson

Extras: Jacob Bryson

Injured: Nino Niederreiter, Vladislav Namestnikov, Neal Pionk and Colin Miller

Hellebuyck

Comrie

The unconfirmed starting goalie is Connor Hellebuyck, as Hellebuyck continues to get the goal after a strong start against the Lightning. The Jets lineup will be different tonight as lineups tend to be the day after the trade deadline. Isak Rosen (acquired from Sabres) will make his Jets debut likely on the 2nd or 3rd line. Brad Lambert was recalled yesterday and should replace Tanner Pearson (traded to the Sabres) on the 4th line. The Jets defense combinations will look a bit different than usual, with Josh Morrissey returning for the first time since getting injured with Team Canada at the Olympics. As usual, there could be some announced lineup changes by the Jets prior to the game (especially tonight), so make sure to stay tuned to the Jets official X/Twitter account for any late lineup additions or changes prior to puck drop.

Canucks Projected Lineup

Hoglander – Pettersson – DeBrusk

Ohgren – Rossi – Boeser

O’Connor – Blueger – Karlsson

Kane – Raty – Sasson

E. Pettersson – Hronek

M. Pettersson – Willander

Buium – Mancini

Extras: Curtis Douglas

Lankinen

Tolopilo

The Canucks lineup is still without a handful of players who are injured, and the lineup now features several recently recalled young players and some veterans who “survived” the trade deadline rumours. Looking at the Canucks’ player stats through 57 games, Elias Pettersson still leads the way with just 38 points in 54 games. Kevin Lankinen is the unconfirmed (but likely) starting goalie, who will make another start after Tolopilo was in net last night in Chicago where the Canucks won 6-3.

Jets player to watch: Isak Rosen

Tonight the player to watch from each team will be a forward who is freshly new (in the case of Rosen) or recently re-added this season (Sasson) to the lineup. Aside from the two draft picks acquired in the Stanley + Schenn deal, Rosen is the player who the Jets are most excited about adding at the deadline. The 22-year old from Sweden was drafted 14th overall in the 2021 NHL draft, and is described as a highly skilled forward who can bring great speed and fit in a top six role. In 16 games with the Sabres this season, Rosen has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points. The Jets believe Rosen’s full potential is still a ways from being unlocked, which is why he’ll be a welcome addition to this Jets lineup for the rest of this season and beyond.

Canucks player to watch: Max Sasson

Sasson is an undrafted 25-year old forward from Birmingham who made his NHL debut last season after a strong 2023-24 season in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks. Sasson is a great example of a “success story” as a player who might not have been on the radar for an NHL career but has now found his spot in the Canucks everyday lineup. Sasson is the type of player that works hard every night and enjoys making an impact whenever he can. In 52 games, Sasson has 11 goals (tied for 6th on Canucks) and 3 assists for 14 points. Look for Sasson on the ice tonight on the Canucks “shutdown” 4th line.

Puck drop in Winnipeg, Manitoba is set for just after 6:00 pm CST. Tonight’s game will be the first time the Jets are in action since the trade deadline, so you know they’d like to showcase the newly acquired players and call ups with a win against this struggling Canadian opponent. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for a recap of the action, as the Jets look to defeat the last place Canucks on Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada.

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