Tonight the Jets return from the NHL Holiday break as they welcome fans back to Canada Life Centre. The last game before the Holiday break ended in a 4-3 OT loss to the Mammoth, and now the Jets get set to face another tough Central Division opponent. One of the hottest teams in the NHL, the Minnesota Wild, travel to Winnipeg, currently on a 7-3-0 stretch in their last 10 games. The top 3 teams in the NHL league standings are now all from the Central Division: the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars, and the Minnesota Wild.

The still 30th overall 15-17-3 Winnipeg Jets and now 3rd overall 22-10-6 Wild will clash on this Saturday night, with the NHL league standings still very close after the top 10 teams. We’re almost at the half way point in the season, and the difference between a playoff team and a bottom five team in the league remains just 6-8 points difference.

The Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild have met twice already this regular season, once in Minnesota and once in Winnipeg. The Jets won 4-3 in OT in the first meeting, before the Wild got revenge in Winnipeg on November 23rd with a 3-0 win. The four game season series concludes after tonight’s game in Minnesota on January 15th. I had no idea this was true when I looked this up, but the Jets are 9-1-0 in their last 10 games against the Wild, with the 1 loss being that 3-0 game in November. These two teams are Central Division rivals who are trending in different directions, but both teams are still focused on securing a playoff spot this season.

The injury report for the Winnipeg Jets remains completely empty, as they continue to stay at full health. The Wild previously had some injury problems, but now only have one player listed on their injury report. Daemon Hunt was placed on the IR last week with an undisclosed injury, but he’s only expected to be out until today or in a few days.

Connor – Scheifele – Nyquist

Perfetti – Namestnikov – Vilardi

Barron – Lowry – Iafallo

Niederreiter – Toews – Pearson

Morrissey – DeMelo

Samberg – Pionk

Stanley – Miller

Hellebuyck

Comrie

The unconfirmed starting goalie is Connor Hellebuyck, who continues to get the nod in goal since returning from injury. After Hellebuyck’s most recent start, he now holds a 9-8-2 record with a 2.48 GAA and a .912 SV%. The rest of the Jets lineup appears unchanged from last game, but the Jets may continue to experiment with their forward lines as they see fit. Colin Miller remains Stanley’s defense partner tonight, as the Jets continue to give Luke Schenn, Colin Miller and Haydn Fleury some playing time in this spot. As usual, there could be some announced lineup changes by the Jets prior to the game, so make sure to stay tuned to the Jets official X/Twitter account for any late lineup additions or changes prior to puck drop.

Kaprisov – Hartman – Zuccarello

Johansson – Eriksson Ek – Boldy

Trenin – Yurov – Tarasenko

Foligno – Sturm – Hinostroza

Hughes – Faber

Brodin – Spurgeon

Middleton – Bogosian

Gustavsson

Wallstedt

The Wild lineup is pretty much at full health minus Hunt, featuring several young talents and some newer additions to the lineup that have already made an impact. Looking at the Wild’s player stats through 38 games, Kirill Kaprizov leads the way with 43 points. Filip Gustavsson is the unconfirmed starting goalie. Gustavsson has started a fair amount of games for the Wild this season, with young goaltender Jasper Wallstedt having a great season behind him as the backup. Gustavsson holds a 12-8-4 record with a 2.49 GAA, 3 shutouts and a .912 SV%.

I’m continuing what I started last game, which is looking at one of each team’s impactful defencemen. Dylan Samberg continues to be Neal Pionk’s two-way defence partner, allowing Pionk to jump up in the offence while he usually stays back and shuts down the opponent’s attack. In 19 games since returning from injury, Samberg has 0 goals and 5 assists for just 5 points, which puts him behind the pace needed to surpass his career high 20 points from last season in 60 games. Watch for Samberg mostly in the defensive zone, as he creates turnovers and helps the Jets transition to the opponent’s side of the ice.

All eyes in Winnipeg will be on the Wild’s newest superstar addition: Quinn Hughes. Since being acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Vancouver Canucks two weeks ago, Hughes has looked like the Wild’s new top defenceman. Last season Hughes scored an impressive 16 goals, and this season he’s got 1 goal and 3 assists for 4 points since joining the Wild. Hughes plays a terrific all-around game, known for his offensive puck handling skills on the top powerplay unit. Watch for him to play a key role for the Wild in several situations tonight.

Puck drop in Winnipeg is set for just after 6:00 pm CST. Tonight’s game will be the Jets’ 3rd last game of 2025, so they’d like to end their year with some much needed wins starting tonight against a tough opponent. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for a recap of the action, as the Jets look to win this Central Division matchup.