Well, the year of 2025 is nearing its conclusion and the Winnipeg Jets will be glad to see it in their rearview mirror. Currently on a 5 game losing streak, the True Northers have gone 3-10-4 since November 21st. The level of the Jets’ play on the ice has improved recently, but that has only resulted in the club picking up a pair of loser points in their most recent contests.
Winnipeg (15-17-4) is sitting in a tie for the 2nd worst record in the NHL before the action gets underway on Monday, while Edmonton (19-14-6) has overcome another slow start to the season to work its way back into playoff contention. The Oilers recently attempted to solve their goaltender issues by trading for Tristan Jarry, but the masked man has sustained an injury so the coaching staff will have to choose between Calvin Pickard or Connor Ingram for tonight’s clash.
Tonight’s 6:30 pm Central game between Winnipeg & Edmonton will feature franchises putting up the following stats, via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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The Oilers tend to score a bit more than the Jets, but they also allow the opposition to score a bit more as well. The biggest thing that popped out to me is Edmonton’s crazy powerplay conversion rate, so Winnipeg should avoid the sin bin when the visitors are capitalizing on 35% of their man advantages.
Word is that defenseman Josh Morrissey sustained an injury late in the Wild game and he didn’t take part in practice yesterday. The coaching staff has indicated that Josh is considered day to day, but with no pre-game skate scheduled today…we will have to wait until closer to puck drop to see if he will be on the ice tonight.
Here is how PuckPedia is currently predicting the players to line up:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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EDMONTON OILERS LINE UP
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Both clubs have 4 players with at least 30 points this season:
Edmonton: Connor McDavid (68 pts), Leon Draisaitl (56), Evan Bouchard (37), & Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (32).
Winnipeg: Mark Scheifele (45 pts), Kyle Connor (45), Gabriel Vilardi (33), & Josh Morrissey (30).
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Edmonton Oilers 3 Winnipeg Jets 1
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): EDM 4.72 WPG 4.60
Expected Goals (5on5): WPG 2.99 EDM 2.69
The Scheifele line led the way in ice time, getting over 16 minutes of 5 on 5 playing time. They had more shots on net, but the Oilers had better scoring chances when they were on the ice. The next two units did win the xG battle playing between 5:35 & 9:21.
After 5 minutes together, Arniel pulled the plug on the Iaffalo–Namestnikov–Perfetti trio and the wingers did better in 3.5 minutes with Toews as pivot. The final unit only had 2:21 of ice time, but once against Vladdy’s poor play pulled down another forward line.
A solid stat line for Winnipeg’s 3 defensive pairings, with them all coming out top in the xG’s, Corsi, & Fenwick categories. Both of the 5 on 5 goals in the game came during irregular pairings for the defensemen, with Samberg–Stanley get the plus for Lowry’s goal and Morrissey–Stanley allowing Edmonton to score.
Hellebuyck ended his streak of negative GSAE ratings, but still was out played by Pickard, as the hometown tender was almost unbeatable with a .976 save percentage on 42 shots.
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
The Winnipeg Jets were the better team in the 1st period as they controlled the puck and kept the powerful Edmonton Oilers’ offense at bay. The inability to take advantage of their strong play ended up costing the True Northers when a bone-headed play by Logan Stanley allowed the visitor’s to take the lead in the 2nd. A powerplay goal on a rebound by former Jet Jack Roslovic extended the Oilers’ lead, but then Morgan Barron & Adam Lowry combined to give fans hope that they might be able to end their long losing streak. Yet it was not meant to be, as an empty netter with Connor Hellebuyck on the bench sealed the win for Edmonton.
The Jets continue to play decent hockey…yet the goal scoring troubles have extended the skid to 6 games (losses in 9 out of the last 10 contests). One last game before 2026 is upon us….with a visit to the top 5 Detroit Red Wings on tap for New Year’s Eve.
