Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Day Jets Nation. The Winnipeg Jets are back in action this afternoon on the road to take on the New York Islanders. Mark Scheifele scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck bounced back from his first start to help lead the Jets to their first win of the season, a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Today’s game is the first of two games on the road for the Jets this week, as they will travel to Philly to play the Flyers on Thursday, before returning to Canada Life Centre on Saturday night to battle the Nashville Predators.

The injury report for the Jets remains relatively the same, with one new addition. Haydn Fleury is now listed as “day to day” after taking a shot off his kneecap in the 2nd period of the game against the Kings. Fleury didn’t return to the game, and he wasn’t skating today which means he’s very likely out of the lineup for this afternoon’s game. Veteran defenceman Colin Miller will likely slot into the Jets lineup, and the Jets announced today that defenceman Kale Clague has been recalled from the Manitoba Moose, while the Jets have loaned forward Brad Lambert to the Moose.

The Islanders injury report is quite lengthy, but it includes several non-rostered players. Pierre Engvall, Semyon Varlamov, Ethan Bear and Calum Ritchie are the rostered players currently injured, which has forced the Islanders to make some roster transactions. At practice Sunday morning, the Islanders showcased some new line combinations, and several extra forwards and defencemen were present as well.

Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi

Iafallo – Toews – Chibrikov

Niederreiter – Namestnikov – Nyquist

Koepke – Barron – Pearson

Morrissey – DeMelo

Stanley – Pionk

Miller – Schenn

Hellebuyck

Comrie

The unconfirmed starting goalie will once again be Connor Hellebuyck, despite him skipping practice Sunday morning. Eric Comrie will likely get the start on Thursday if he doesn’t start this afternoon, as the team would like to get Comrie his regular season debut sooner than later. The one lineup change to the forwards that was made to the forwards last game will stay the same today, as Alex Iafallo has moved into the 2nd line wing while Nyquist has moved down to the 3rd line wing. Logan Stanley will have a big test ahead on the 2nd pairing with Pionk.

Drouin – Horvat – Heineman

Duclair – Barzal – Palmieri

Lee – Pageau – Shabanov

Holmstrom – Cizikas – Tsyplakov

Romanov – DeAngelo

Pelech – Pulock

Schaefer – Mayfield

Sorokin

Rittich

After falling to 0-2 on the season, the Islanders have made some adjustments to their lineup. The forward group features a pair of undrafted Russian wingers in Shabanov and Tsyplakov, in addition to several new additions including Drouin on the top line. The Islanders defence group has always seemed to feature multiple talented defensive defencemen, and this year they’ve added some skill with the addition of Schaefer. Sorokin makes his 3rd start of the season, after allowing 8 goals through his first 2 starts.

The Jets top line is already looking in mid-season form through two games, including Gabe Vilardi. Although Vilardi hasn’t scored yet this season, his performance last game was very notable, as he had 2 assists to go along with 5 shots on goal. Now with 3 assists through 2 games, Vilardi should be the Jets player to watch closely tonight as I have a feeling that it will be his turn this afternoon to get some goals on that Jets top line.

Islanders fans have to be pleased with the first two games of the 2025 NHL Draft’s 1st overall pick. Schaefer will be on a pairing with a physical defenceman in Scott Mayfield, which allows him to showcase more of his offensive abilities. Schaefer got his 1st career assist in his 1st career game, followed by his 1st career goal in his 2nd game. The 18-year old Canadian will be ready to continue the great start to his career in front of Islanders fans, so the Jets will need to be on the watch for one of the league’s top prospects.

Puck drop is set for just after 12:00 pm CT. Another early start is ideal for today, as Jets fans will hopefully be able to celebrate a Jets win with a Thanksgiving dinner a few hours after the game. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for a recap of the action, as the Jets look to win their first road game of the season.