It’s Thursday morning and it’s another Winnipeg Jets game day. The vibes are not what they used to be for the Jets, who were once the talk of the NHL with a 14-1-0 record. Today is the 1st Jets game day in several weeks where the Jets aren’t 1st place in the NHL league standings. After a 4th straight defeat, a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues at home, the Jets have fallen to 18-8-0 on the season. The Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild are ahead of the Jets now in the standings, but that should be the least of the Jets concerns at the moment.

All that matters tonight is finding a way to get back in the win column. The Jets are in Buffalo to take on the 11-12-2 Sabres, a team that they are 6-3-1 against in their 10 meetings. Their most recent matchup was on March 3rd, 2024, where the Jets defeated the Sabres in Buffalo by a score of 5-2. The Jets have currently lost 3 straight road games, and the Sabres have lost 3 straight home games, so one of these streaks are going to end tonight.

Looking back to the last Jets game, it was clear that the Jets continue to struggle to generate enough shots on goal, and quality chances in general. With Nikolaj Ehlers and Dylan Samberg still out of the lineup, the Jets have had to shuffle their lines a bit, and these new combinations may stay be working out some details. The 2nd period of the Blues – Jets game might have been the worst period of hockey we have seen from the 2024-25 Jets, as they were outshot 19-3 and outscored 2-0.

The Jets were scheduled to have a practice yesterday, but instead chose not to skate but rather head off to Buffalo for this mini 2 game road trip. Yesterday, we also learned that Ehlers is still “7-10 days away” and Dylan Samberg is still “a ways away”. What we don’t know yet (until a few hours from now) is whether the Jets will make additional changes to their current lineup. It was a bit of a puzzling move to see Colin Miller on the bench last game, and with Logan Stanley’s struggles continuing, Arniel may want to consider inserting the veteran defenceman back in the lineup.

In other lineup news, Brad Lambert looked comfortable out there as the Jets 2nd line centre. The 20-year old, former 1st round pick, was using his speed on the attack and just seemed to be able to hold his own in those tough board battles. Lambert’s linemates last game, Gabe Vilardi and Cole Perfetti, aren’t quite “up to speed” with Lambert, which might have limited Lambert’s ability to generate offence off turnovers. Scott Arniel may consider shuffling the top 6 tonight in order to get the most out of Lambert, who can provide a offensive spark when paired with the right players.

The expected starting goalies are Connor Hellebuyck against Ukko-Pekka Luukonen. Hellebuyck has continued to keep the Jets in games as of late, while Luukonen has done just enough to be a reliable starter for the Sabres. Puck drop for tonight’s game is at 6:00 pm CT, and as usual make sure to join us back here post game for an instant reaction / post game recap. It’s time for the Jets to get back in the win column.