Alright…..a day has arrived that I have been dreading since I realized that the Winnipeg Jets wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as they were last year. Yep…the dynamo that is this season’s version of the Colorado Avalanche is on tap for the True North franchise tonight. Despite the NHL’s 2025-26 regular season schedule almost reaching the middle point, the Central Division rivals have yet to face off against each other. So us Jets’ fans get to look forward to playing what appears to be the league’s best team four more times in the final 49 games. Yeah!!
The Avalanche (24-2-7) have been juggernauts through the early part of the season, currently sitting atop the NHL with 55 points, with the most goals scored (133), and the best defense (77 goals against). Losing only 2 contests in regulation playing anywhere and a 13-0-2 record in the friendly confines of the Ball Arena in Denver. Despite that dominance, they are only leading the Dallas Stars by 4 in the race for the Central title. So they won’t be likely to overlook Winnipeg tonight and give our club a surprising victory. The Avs have been led by the usual suspects, with Nathan MacKinnon going crazy with 58 pts, Martin Necas pocketing 45, and Cale Makar rounding out the top 3 with 40 pts.
The Jets (15-16-2) on the other hand are still searching for their identity with the current roster. The early season was derailed by injuries to key players, but as the club returned to full health the level of play hasn’t increased as expected. Some of Winnipeg’s players are performing admirably, but unfortunately there are only a handful of them. Gabriel Vilardi has been putting pucks in the net and is on pace for his first 40 goal season. Usual linemates Mark Scheifele & Kyle Connor are also looking to set career highs with their current 100 point pace. Even though Connor Hellebuyck missed 3 weeks with an injury, he is once again performing at a Vezina-worthy level and has the 6th best save percentage. But beyond that, all that comes to mind is Logan Stanley’s unexpected goal scoring prowess…though that doesn’t exactly mean the big defenseman is having a great season.
Lets look at some more by checking into Winnipeg & Colorado’s seasons via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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Other than a surprisingly poor powerplay, Colorado has the advantage in most categories. Averaging 4 goals per game is pretty insane and their 35 shots per game average predicts that Winnipeg’s tender will be busy on Friday night (8 pm Central). Having two goalies with .920 save percentages splitting the workload throughout the regular season is a real bonus too.
The True Northers don’t have a pre-game skate until closer to 1 pm, so we will have to rely on how PuckPedia is predicted line ups for tonight’s clash for a while:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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COLORADO AVALANCHE LINE UP
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Sorry to be so pessimistic in this write up….but looking at the Avalanche’s forward depth doesn’t make me very hopeful about tonight’s game. That top 9 should all test the Jets’ defense consistently…..so hope Bucky is up for another top-notch performance.
Winnipeg couldn’t score a goal against the NHL’s worst defensive club on Wednesday…..will they be able to find the back of the net against the league’s best franchise? Head coach Scott Arniel has tried just about every combination up front….except splitting up Scheifele & Connor. Is it time to do that? I have no real answers….and it doesn’t appear that the coaching staff or players do either.
Will this be like the Washington Capitals contest where the Jets reminded us of how they played against good teams last season? Or will it go the way most of us expect? Lets hear your thoughts/fears in the Comment section.
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE:
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all):
Expected Goals (5on5):
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
Since the weekend is upon us….I will stay up late to add the scoring summary, stats, video recap and thoughts about an hour after the game ends. Not expecting to have a lot of good things to talk about…but that is where we are in Jets Land this season.