The 15-17-3 Winnipeg Jets will host the 22-10-6 Minnesota Wild from Canada Life Centre on Saturday evening in a Central Division affair.
The Jets will battle their nearest geographical rival, while looking to do pretty much anything to garner a sense of urgency amid an extremely difficult first third of the 2025-26 NHL season.
Sitting second-last in a league that saw them take home the Presidents’ Trophy last year, the Jets will need a miracle in the new year if they want a fighting chance at the Cup this spring. But with the way things have gone this season thus far, they are much closer to the No. 1 pick than a postseason appearance.
The team gathered downtown for its first skate following the holiday break on Saturday and suited up in familiar fashions. Despite the wishes of many boys and girls across the province, Santa did not provide head coach Scott Arniel with any new players or line combos for Christmas.
It appears as though Connor Hellebuyck will be relied on heavily going forward, while Kevin Cheveldayoff’s offseason signings will continue to look to find any sort of offence to justify their roles within the lineup.
Haydn Fleury, Colin Miller and Cole Koepke will serve as the healthy inactives, while the team currently does not have any injuries to report – for what feels like the first time all season.
Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi
Barron-Lowry-Pearson
Perfetti-Namestnikov-Iafallo
Niederreiter-Toews-Nyquist
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Stanley-Schenn
Hellebuyck
Puck drop is set for 6:00 PM central time. The game can be viewed live on Sportsnet.