The Winnipeg Jets (12-8-0) will be entering their second game without Connor Hellebuyck after dropping the first match against the Carolina Hurricanes. Things don’t get easier for the True Northers, as their neighbours to the south are visiting Manitoba and the Minnesota Wild (11-7-4) are playing some really good hockey at this point.
The Wild have picked up wins in 4 straight against some quality opposition (ANA, VEG, CAR, & PIT), so they should offer a test to a Jets club that has also been playing fairly well. With the NHL standings as tightly contested as I’ve seen in recent history, every game will matter if either franchise wants to participate in the playoffs. At this point, Winnipeg is sitting on the outside looking in, but do have games in hand to change that situation, as seen in ESPN’s Central Division standings graphic.
Both franchises have been seen some of their star players kick off the NHL’s 2025-26 campaign well, with the Wild having forwards Kirill Kaprizov (26) and Matt Boldy (25) above the 20 point plateau and the Jets responding with Mark Scheifele (28), Kyle Connor (25), and Josh Morrissey (22).
Let’s continue our look at Winnipeg & Minnesota by checking out ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers for tonight’s late night game (yet another 9:00 pm Central start):
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After browsing the data in the above graphics, there are not huge differences in the numbers in most categories. With Hellebuyck on the shelf, Minnesota takes an advantage in goaltending play while Winnipeg can lay claim to better penalty killers and spending less time in the sin bin.
Time to check out how PuckPedia is predicting the clubs to line up tonight (3 PM Central):
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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MINNESOTA WILD LINE UP
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With no pre-game skate due to the 3 pm Central start time, we won’t be able to confirm how the teams will be deploying their players. That being said, other than Scheifele taking a maintenance day that saw Tanner Pearson fill in on the top line, there were no changes to the Jets’ lines in yesterday’s practice. So we should expect the same players as the tightly fought game against the Canes.
My cat Lambo is very much demanding a walk around the neighbourhood, so I better give in or he may demand a trade like the Jets’ prospect he was named after. 🙂
Go Winnipeg!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Minnesota Wild 3 Winnipeg Jets 0
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): WPG 2.86 MIN 1.76
Expected Goals (5on5): WPG 2.41 MIN 1.55
6 different forward lines for Winnipeg had at least 2:45 on 5 on 5 ice time versus the Wild. The Scheifele line led the way with over 15 mins, with the Niederreiter-Toews-Nyquist trio coming in the 8 min range (1 GA). The other 5 on 5 goal the Jets allowed was against the Perfetti-Toews-Niederreiter line and they were one of 4 units that had under 5:30 of playing time.
Great xG numbers for the 1st and 4th lines….but that data doesn’t count for much when they can’t actually beat the opposing tender.
Like Toews for the forwards, Morrissey also had the distinction of being on the ice for for both even strength goals against, once paired with Miller & the other time with Stanley. The early game injury to Pionk threw the Winnipeg defense into a chaotic rotation of 8 pairings that saw at least 3:33 of playing time at 5 on 5. Samberg seemed to miss his normal partner, as he finished below 50% xG with both Miller & Stanley after putting up 100% xG with Pionk. Though Sammy did play well with DeMelo.
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
The first period from the Winnipeg Jets was perfection….except the lack of goals on the scoreboard for all the chances they had. That ended up costing our club since once the Minnesota Wild get a lead, they rarely surrender it. The 2nd period saw the return of dumb mistakes in coverage and a utter lack of effort by some of the players on the Jets’ powerplay, with the Wild’s short-handed marker basically being the final nail in the Jets’ coffin despite there being a full period of hockey to play. Kudos to Wallstedt, who walked away with a +2.86 Goals Saved Above Expected rating this afternoon. But Winnipeg has to make it tougher by getting bodies in front of the net when they run up against a hot goalie…something they didn’t get done enough in this one.
I am fairly positive that we will see Thomas Milic make his NHL debut in the True Northers’ next outing. I think the coaching & front office needs to see what they have in the young tender before deciding whether they should put in the effort to find a replacement tender while Hellebuyck is out. Not like there will be a ton of great options out there if they do. The schedule just keeps getting harder from here (for the most part), so the Winnipeg Jets’ season could quickly go off the rails if they don’t find a way to weather the storm.