After storming out to a 3-1 lead in the 1st period against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, the Winnipeg Jets managed to fall apart over the next 2 frames to extend their losing streak to 11 games. With no time to search for answers to their inability to protect leads this year, the True Northers will be back in action on Friday night when the Los Angeles Kings come to town.
The Jets (15-22-5) haven’t picked up 2 points in a game since December 13th, when they absolutely demolished the Washington Capitals 5-1. Winnipeg remains at the bottom of the NHL standings, along with a couple fellow Canadian franchises in the Vancouver Canucks & Calgary Flames. Goal scoring continues to be a problem for the club with the 7th least goals in 2025-26 (121 GF) and the Jets are no a middle of the pack defensive team (16th w/ 134 GA).
The Kings (18-14-10) just concluded a homestand where they went 2-1-1 before flying to the much colder climate of Manitoba. Very much still in the fight for the playoffs, they are currently holding onto the final wildcard spot in the West, despite being the 5th place team in the Pacific Division. Los Angeles is one of the few teams that scores less than our squad, since their 114 goals for has them tied with the Flames as the 2nd worst offensive club. Defensively, LA is at the opposite end of the spectrum as they have allowed the 3rd least goals against (117).
Tonight’s game at the Canada Life Centre will kick off at 7 pm Central and here is how the two clubs’ year-to-date stats compare, via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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The biggest thing I take from the above stats is Los Angeles’ ability to stifle offense, allowing a half goal less than Winnipeg has this year. The Kings’ struggling goal scoring abilities should be helped by the expected return of Eric Comrie to the net….though Connor Hellebuyck hasn’t been playing all that great the past few games.
No pre-game skate today due to the back-to-back situation, so we will have to look at the last game’s lineup for now. I did hear that rookie Danny Zhilkin will make his second NHL start….and Illegal Curve seems to think Vladislav Namestnikov will return to the starting roster as well.
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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LOS ANGELES KINGS LINE UP
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The Kings will be without forwards Trevor Moore & Corey Perry, who are on IR, but the status of a couple more is unknown with Anze Kopitar & Joel Armia listed as day to day. For the Jets, only defenseman Haydn Fleury remains unavailable to head coach Scott Arniel.
When I look at the scoring leaders for both teams, you see a pair of Winnipeggers well out front but you also notice the slightly better depth the Californians have:
WPG: Kyle Connor (51 pts), Mark Scheifele (50), Gabriel Vilardi (37), Josh Morrissey (34), Nino Niederreiter & Alex Iafallo (15), & Morgan Barron (14)
LA: Adrian Kempe (34 pts), Kevin Fiala (31), Quinton Byfield (24), Anze Kopitar (21), Alex Laferriere (21), Corey Perry (21), & Brandt Clarke (19)
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:
The weekend is almost here!!! Nice weather we are having in the Peg too!!
So that means that I should be awake to add all the post-game stuff to this article approximately an hour after the Jets add another loss to their record. Could get it done quicker…but have to give MoneyPuck some time to adjust the data.