Another early game on tap for the Winnipeg Jets (1-1-0) as they head out on their first road trip of the 2025-26 NHL campaign, as they set to square off against the New York Islanders (0-2-0) when the puck eventually drops at noon Central.
The True Northers split their opening home stand versus a couple of Western Conference foes, while the Long Islanders clashed with a couple Metropolitan Division rivals only to walk away with a couple of narrow losses (4-3 PIT/4-2 WSH).
Injuries continue to be the early theme for Winnipeg this year, as defenseman Haydn Fleury has joined an already packed recovery room filled with Adam Lowry, Cole Perfetti, & Dylan Samberg. As a result, the Jets’ coaching staff has recalled defenseman Kale Clague to be the 7th guy, while slotting in perennially overlooked Colin Miller on his off-hand. At least that is how it was for practice on Sunday….we will have to see if anything changes before the game kicks off.
Okay….time for the team comparison stats from ESPN and the projected line ups from PuckPedia:
MATCH UP STATS
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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NY ISLANDERS LINE UP
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Well, the defense from the Jets this year has been questionable….hopes can’t be high for that to improve when you see a 2nd pairing of Logan Stanley & Neal Pionk. The best news about Samberg’s injury is that it is to his upper extremity, so at least the key defenseman is able to skate to maintain his stamina will that wrist bone heals. It can’t happen fast enough.
So what can we expect from Winnipeg on Monday afternoon? I really have no clue….with so many missing pieces, right now it is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates….you never know what you’re going to get.
The New York Islanders haven’t been getting the results on the scoreboard that they want, but at least the most recent 1st overall draft pick, Matthew Schaefer, has lived up to billing with a goal & an assist in his first two NHL contests. Should be fun to see the kid in action. I doubt we will get to see former Jet David Rittich in net against Winnipeg, as Ilya Sorokin will most likely get his 3rd straight start.
Go Winnipeg!!!!!
Manitoba Moose Update: The minor league club lost the grudge match to the Laval Rocket on Sunday, but I did get to witness recently demoted David Gustafsson score a pair of goals in his first AHL contest of the year. From what I’ve seen early on, the Moose should be quite entertaining this year….though despite Colby Barlow, Brayden Yager, & Brad Lambert creating multiple scoring opportunities in their first game as a trio, I still feel like mixing them with the veterans might get more consistent offensive zone time over the top 9 forwards.
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POST-GAME INFO
**the information below will be added a few hours after the game ends, so check back later this evening to look over the numbers.**
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
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Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): WPG 3.46 NYI 3.31
Expected Goals (5on5): NYI 2.16 WPG 1.35
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The Winnipeg Jets road a strong performance from goalie Eric Comrie to victory on Thanksgiving Monday, assisted by some secondary even strength scoring from Morgan Barron (beauty backhander), Tanner Pearson (what a set up from Nino), and even Logan Stanley.
The True Northers have a couple days off before they take on the Philadelphia Flyers….who might have the ugliest schedule to start the season with games against Florida, Carolina, Florida, & Winnipeg to kick things off. Nothing like playing the defending President’s Trophy winners, the defending Stanley Cup Champions (twice), and a team many people say “won the off-season” in the Carolina Hurricanes as your club is trying to get into the swing of things.
