The month of December wasn’t a great one for Winnipeg Jets’ goaltenders, as it only provided Connor Hellebuyck & Eric Comrie with one win each. Now that the calendar has flipped over to January, the masked men have already equaled that plateau before the mid-month mark.
The True North franchise is currently on their 4th multi-game winning streak of the NHL’s 2025-26 campaign, after posting victories over the Los Angeles Kings & New Jersey Devils, and will be hoping to extend that versus the New York Islanders tonight. The Jets small string of wins has vaulted them out of the league’s basement, a full 2 pts up on the Vancouver Canucks, who have also played an extra game to date.
The Isles missed the playoffs last year, but that resulted in them winning the draft lottery despite finishing with the 10th worst record in the league. Getting the chance to draft Matthew Schaefer has dramatically improved the club’s fortunes, as they are fighting the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Winnipeg (17-22-5) will be ending their 2nd longest homestand of the season (5 gms) on Tuesday evening, which will have them looking forward to the 8 game streak coming up in March. Recently, head coach Scott Arniel put Jonathan Toews, Cole Perfetti, & Gabriel Vilardi on the 2nd line together and the move has paid off in the short-term. The trio has only played 42.4 minutes together so far, but the stats have been quite impressive. With a 61.9% On Ice Expected Goals Percentage and an even better 80% On Ice Actual Goals Percentage, outscoring the opposition 4 to 1.
New York (25-15-5) last played on Saturday when they downed the Minnesota Wild in overtime and tonight will be the 3rd game of an 8 game road trip. The rookie defenseman Schaefer has been quite impressive in his debut campaign, piling up 29 pts in 45 games. For a team with such a good record, the club’s 5 on 5 stats aren’t in the same range. The Isles are 27th in xG% (46.34%), while the Jets are only 2 spots back in 29th (45.99%). The numbers are even worse for New York in all situations, where Winnipeg is slightly ahead (47.25% to 47.16%). The key for them in 25-26 has been defense & goaltending, with both masked men sporting a .910 save percentage or better and the Islanders allowing the 5th least goals against at even strength.
Today’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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As I had indicated above, the above stats for Winnipeg & New York are not significantly different despite the Islanders sporting the 8th best record and the Jets with the 2nd worst. In the special teams department, the True Northers’ advantage on the powerplay will most likely be nullified by the Isles’ better penalty killers.
The NY Islanders don’t have any skaters piling up the points, but instead rely on depth with 13 players having at least 15 points. Their leaders include Mathew Barzal (36 pts), Bo Horvat (33), Schaefer (29), Anders Lee (25), Simon Holmstrom (23), Jonathan Drouin (20), & Emil Heineman (20).
Winnipeg only has 8 players with at least 15 points, though that drops down to just 4 if you increase the requirement to 20 points: Mark Scheifele (52 pts), Kyle Connor (52), Gabriel Vilardi (40), & Josh Morrissey (36).
The pre-game skate for the Jets today didn’t have Neal Pionk on the ice, though it seems he is expected to play since it was forward Gustav Nyquist filling in for him. Winger Morgan Barron is still in a non-contact jersey, so he won’t be on the ice at the Canada Life Centre tonight. Newly recalled defender Isaak Phillips was also participating, but likely won’t make his Winnipeg debut unless Pionk is unable to go. Here is how PuckPedia’s line up projections are at this point of the day:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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NEW YORK ISLANDERS LINE UP
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I don’t really have a bunch to say about the line ups tonight, so I will go on a tangent and note that Sportsnet has just released an article about why Jason Bukala believes that Ivar Stenberg is who he considers the #1 draft prospect for 2026. It is interesting to see the fluctuation from the scouts for the upcoming draft, as they have had three different #1 players this year. To kick things off, Gavin McKenna was the clear choice for the majority of analysts, but his slower than expected adjustment to NCAA hockey had allowed hulking defenseman Keaton Verhoeff to usurp the young forward. Now, after the World Junior Championships, it is Swedish winger Stenberg that is getting the tap for the #1 position. The article linked below goes into detail on Ivar’s strengths & weaknesses and is worth the read for any Winnipeg fan already thinking about June’s Entry Draft.
Scout’s Analysis: Why Ivar Stenberg is taking over as No. 1 draft prospect – Sportsnet.ca
I will be channel surfing tonight, since the Manitoba Moose also play against the Rockford IceDogs as the continue to battle for 2nd in the AHL’s Central Division. It might be prospect Jacob Julien’s first game for the Jets’ minor league affiliate after a lower body injury robbed him of the first half of the season.
Enjoy the pleasant weather in the Peg….looks like it will be getting colder again by the end of the week.
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Winnipeg Jets 5 New York Islanders 4
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): NYI 3.58 WPG 3.45
Expected Goals (5on5): NYI 2.12 WPG 1.81
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
The Winnipeg Jets got involved in a high scoring affair versus the New York Islanders last night, with neither club displaying proper defensive play. Despite blowing a 3 goal lead, the True Northers were able to recoup and pull out their 3rd straight victory.
Next up is a trip to Minnesota to square off against the Wild on Thursday….can the Jets keep their winning ways going against one of the better teams in the Western Conference?
