The Winnipeg Jets started the final stretch of the NHL’s 2025-26 campaign with a victory and they will need to pile up a lot more of those if they hope to qualify for the playoffs. The win over Vancouver did allow our team to close the gap to the final wildcard spot from 11 pts to 9 pts, so the True Northers took a good first step if they want to book a spot in the post-season.
The next obstacle in Winnipeg’s path is the Anaheim Ducks, who they will square off against in another late night West Coast match tonight. The SoCal franchise is looking to end a 7 season playoff drought and they are placed well currently, holding onto the 6th spot in the Western Conference and challenging the Edmonton Oilers for the 2nd spot in the Pacific Division (down by 1 pt w/ 3 games in hand).
The Jets (23-26-8) have amassed 54 points on the season, good for a tie for 27th in the NHL with the Calgary Flames. Winnipeg have played adequately in the defense/goaltending areas with 177 Goals Against (tied for 13th), but have struggled to score goals with only 163 Goals For (25th).
The Ducks’ (31-23-3) years of high draft picks is beginning to pay off, especially on the offensive side where their 191 Goals For puts them in a tie for 14th in the NHL. As is often the case with young teams, defense can be an issue and Anaheim is no exception, with their 200 Goals Against putting them near the bottom of the league (27th).
Winnipeg is currently trailing Anaheim by 11 points in the standings and they will be facing a hot team when the puck drops at the Honda Center (9 pm Central). The Ducks have a 3 game winning streak on the line and have gone 8-2-0 over the past 10 matches, while the Jets have a 1 game winning streak and a 4-4-2 record over the last 10 contests.
Here is how the two clubs’ year-to-date stats compare, via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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The pre-skates aren’t until the early afternoon, so we won’t know much about the official line ups until then. Although, it is expected that Connor Hellebuyck will return to the crease for his first post-Olympic start in Anaheim. The Ducks’ starter should be Lukas Dostal and both tenders are having similar seasons, with Bucky sitting in 21st for Goals Saved Above Expected (+6.6) compared to Dostal’s 28th rating (+2.3).
Both clubs are dealing with injuries, as Anaheim could be without a couple key forwards in Frank Vatrano & Mikael Granlund and Winnipeg should be missing Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Nino Niederreiter, Colin Miller, & Haydn Fleury.
For now here are the line up projections via PuckPedia, which are based on the clubs’ most recent games, so there is a good chance they could be incorrect:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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ANAHEIM DUCKS LINE UP
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Tonight’s game should be a lot more challenging than the Jets win over the Canucks, so Hellebuyck will need to still be in the zone to give his team a chance. The True North skaters will also need to do a better job finishing the scoring chances they create.
Both Winnipeg & Anaheim have their weaknesses though (Ducks defense/Jets offense) so the outcome will likely be decided by whoever takes the most advantage of them. How do you see things playing out?
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Anaheim Ducks 5 Winnipeg Jets 4 (OT)
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all): ANA 5.86 WPG 4.12
Expected Goals (5on5): ANA 3.41 WPG 2.99
The injury to Namestnikov forced the Jets into some line juggling resulting in only Winnipeg’s top 2 forward units getting more than 10 minutes of 5 on 5 play. Barron’s line had a bit more than 5 minutes together while the last 2 trios saw less than 3 minutes.
Despite a total of 9 goals in the contest, only 5 of those occurred at even strength. Scheifele’s line and one version of a Toews’ unit saw the Ducks beat Hellebuyck, while the trio of Perfetti–Lowry–Iafallo were the cream of the crop…putting up a 79.7% xG rating while scoring 2 Goals For and allowing none. Speaking of Cole….not sure many Winnipeg players are performing as well as he has recently. Fetts did walk away with 2 assists, but could have easily added a couple more points with all the opportunities he created.
Since Winnipeg lost the xG battle at 5 on 5 by a half goal, it is not surprising that 2 out of 3 defensive duos ended up on the wrong side. Another impressive outing by rookie Salomonsson though, scoring his 1st NHL goal while helping the True Northers outscore the opposition 2 to 0 when he was paired with Samberg. The other 2 main units ended up giving up a goal to Anaheim while failing to create any offense of their own. That being said, like people mentioned in the Comment section, I was very impressed with the play of Heinola, who seemed to hold his own physically and is skating extremely well.
Hellebuyck looked unbeatable for half of this game, calmly turning aside all shots until a screen point shot beat him in the dying seconds of the 2nd period. Other than the goal that trickled in after it hit his glove, I can’t really blame the tender for many of the goals against and he did end up with a positive GSAE rating….but the Jets could have really used another save or two if they hope to make the playoffs.
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
With the one point earned last night, the Winnipeg Jets have pulled within 8 points of the Seattle Kraken and the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With only 3 games to play before the trade deadline, the True North management has to make the decision to become sellers or buyers within the next week.
And it sounds like their path just got more difficult, as not only did Vladislav Namestnikov leave Friday night’s game with an injury, it appears that top center Mark Scheifele also got banged up in the overtime period. Both players will be assessed today, so stay tuned for any updates that may come out.
When you add that to Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, Nino Niederreiter, Colin Miller, & Haydn Fleury the Jets continue to have injuries derail their hopes for the season. If all of these players will be out until March 6th….I wonder who will be suiting up for the upcoming games should GM Kevin Cheveldayoff decide to trade players like Logan Stanley, Luke Schenn, etc.
Well, time to make some breakfast before I start getting ready for the Manitoba Moose’s game this afternoon. All the call ups due to Winnipeg injuries have certainly made things more difficult for the AHL squad, but they continue to fight for the 3rd spot in the Central Division….which would help them avoid the play in round. Enjoy your chilly weekend in the Peg…..sounds like warm weather is coming back on Monday!!
