It finally has arrived…..the start of the Winnipeg Jets’ 2025-26 will kick off this evening when the Canada Life Centre will be filled to the rafters for a clash against a Central Division rival, the Dallas Stars.
Be prepared to wait through the opening ceremonies before the action gets underway, as the True North franchise will get to raise their Presidents’ Trophy banner to the rafters as they celebrate last season’s successes. Then it will be time for the players to forget all that and get down to this year’s focus…securing a playoff spot.
Both the Jets & Stars were able to qualify for the second season in 2024-25….and we all know that ended with Dallas eliminating Winnipeg in the 2nd round. Therefore, I guess you could think it is fitting that the two clubs will get right back to re-acquainting themselves with each other in their first game this season.
At the time of writing this, Jonathan Toews is still considered to be on Injured Reserve, even though he has participated in practice the last couple days. As a result, Winnipeg still has 24 players on their NHL roster and if Toews is ready to go tonight, then one of David Gustafsson (waivers), Parker Ford (no waivers), or Brad Lambert (no waivers) will need to be sent down to the Manitoba Moose. We should know how it will play out after the Jets’ pre-game skate at 10:30 am, when I will updated the expected lineups from PuckPedia below:
**note: the Jets opted to send Gustafsson through waivers to the Moose, while keeping Lambert & Ford up with the big club.**
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
DALLAS STARS LINE UP
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The game will get underway shortly after 7 pm Central and will be televised on TSN for our viewing pleasure. It is a brand new season, folks….lets hope the Winnipeg Jets can start it off well despite injuries to players like Adam Lowry, Cole Perfetti, & Dylan Samberg.
Go Winnipeg!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
**the information below will be added the morning after the game ends, so check back tomorrow to look over the numbers.**
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
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Well, the Winnipeg Jets’ defensive systems were not at their best for the first game of the NHL season, as they allowed a whopping 6.61 expected goals for the Dallas Stars in this one. Goalie Connor Hellebuyck wasn’t at the top of his game, but it isn’t every game where a tender allows 5 goals against yet still end up with a positive Goals Saved Above Expected rating (+0.75).
And of course, the newly inked Kyle Connor showed up as well, pocketing a hattrick with two 5 on 5 markers and a short-handed goal in the opening contest. Undoubtedly, the Jets missed injured players like Dylan Samberg, Adam Lowry, & Cole Perfetti.
Hopefully coach Scott Arniel & company can figure out how to tighten things up defensively for the next game, as well as work on the powerplay (0 for 4 vs DAL).
