The Winnipeg Jets got their star goaltender back for their last game….and then Connor Hellebuyck & company went on to play their best game of this year’s NHL campaign. The True Northers completely controlled the flow of the game against the Washington Capitals as they breezed to an easy victory, totally confusing a fanbase that hasn’t witnessed a game like that since last season.
After knocking off a franchise from America’s capital city, the Jets (15-15-1) will face off against the club from Canada’s capital when the Ottawa Senators (14-13-4) come to Manitoba. Neither of these teams have been playing great hockey lately, with Winnipeg 3-6-1 in their past 10 matches and the Sens slightly worse at 3-7-0. So it is hardly surprising that they find themselves near the bottom of the league, with the Jets being tied for the 5th worst record and the Senators knotted up at 7th. Despite those rankings, neither club is that far out of a wildcard spot at this point, needing to gain only 2 or 3 wins on the current holders.
With the return of Bucky from injury, the True Northers are completely healthy for the first time in the 2025-26 campaign. Ottawa can’t say the same thing though, as they will be without a pair of key players in forward Shane Pinto & defenseman Thomas Chabot.
Lets look more at today’s game (6:30 pm Central start) by checking into Winnipeg & Ottawa’s seasons via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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The overall team data indicates that Winnipeg & Ottawa are fairly equally matched, though the Jets have been slightly better defensively. That mainly is due to the play of Hellebuyck, as the Jets have an advantage between the pipes. Both clubs have an advantage in the special teams department, with the Senators more deadly on the powerplay and the Jets being more efficient when down a man.
Moving on to check out PuckPedia‘s predicted line ups for tonight’s clash, which are based on the club’s last games because I am writing this very early:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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OTTAWA SENATORS LINE UP
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Will the Jets start Hellebuyck again, even though he has just made a quick return from knee surgery? Or will they ease him back in and go with Eric Comrie in net? Would like to see Luke Schenn visit the press box for a game and give Colin Miller another start….but don’t know if coach Scott Arniel will touch anything after the team’s performance versus Washington.
He probably should when you consider the information provided by The Five Hohl after the Capitals’ game, which indicated that the Logan Stanley & Schenn pairing allowed 65% of the expected goals Winnipeg allowed at 5 on 5.
What are you expecting to witness tonight? Will we see the True Northers put up back to back solid performances or will it be a return of the uninspired, mistake filled play that we’ve seen too often this season?
Go Winnipeg!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Ottawa Senators 3 Winnipeg Jets 2 (OT)
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): WPG 3.98 OTT 3.54
Expected Goals (5on5): WPG 2.60 OTT 2.27
It was the Namestnikov & Toews lines that controlled the puck most against the Senators. The only actual goal against at 5 on 5 was when Winnipeg’s top unit was on the ice, while the Jets scored one when Perfetti joined Connor & Scheifele for one shift.
The Jets’ defense played fairly well at 5 on 5 versus Ottawa, though none of the normal pairings scored or allowed a goal when they were on the ice. A pairing of Stanley–DeMelo saw just under 3 minutes of playing time and scored Winnipeg’s even strength goal, while Morrissey–Pionk allowed 1 in their 2 minutes of icetime.
Hellebuyck played better than his +0.54 GSAE rating indicates, making quite a few big stops before an unfortunate deflection allowed the opposition to tie the game late in the 3rd.
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
Well, I am a bit torn watching the Winnipeg Jets right now….since part of me will always want the team to win, but another voice in my brain is suggesting it would be better for the long-term if our club ends up with a top 10 pick. So tonight’s outcome of the True Northers getting a loser point probably fits with my frame of mind.
Both the stats & my eyes told me that this game versus the Ottawa Senators was evenly contested, with both teams having periods were they looked dangerous. The Sens were good early in the 1st & 2nd periods, while the Jets seemed to get stronger as those frames progressed. Some bad luck while defending with Ottawa’s goalie on the bench allowed the visitors to ruin Connor Hellebuyck’s great performance. Then a mistake by Cole Perfetti in overtime, who I thought played a very strong game before that, resulted in the winner going in against the True Northers on an odd man rush. Both squads had quality looks during 3 on 3 play, but a lack of finish ended up costing our team in the end.
On tap for the Winnipeg Jets is 4 straight contests versus Central Division opponents, starting off Wednesday versus the St. Louis Blues & then Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche.
