On Tuesday, Jan. 7th. The Winnipeg Jets continued their season-long eight-game homestand in game 3 against the Nashville Predators, hoping to snap a three-game losing skid and secure their first win of 2025. They had collected just one point in their previous three matchups.

The Jets came into this matchup missing Dylan Samberg and Hadyn Fleury on defence once again, and now additionally, Colin Miller. Miller fractured his larynx last game and is expected to be out for at least 2 weeks according to Scott Arniel. With Miller out, this creates even bigger gaps and weaknesses in the defence core. It was projected to be a rough game defensively for the Jets.

The Jets opened the scoring when Rasmus Kupari attempted to jam in a wraparound past Juuse Saros, causing a scramble at the side of the net. Morgan Barron snuck the puck by Saros, and into the crease. Nick Blankenburg accidentally nudged the puck into the back of the net at 6:30, giving the Jets the 1-0 lead.

Huge sigh of relief for Morgan Barron who hasn’t scored in almost three weeks. His last goal coming against the Wild on Dec. 21st.

The offensive firepower continued to shine. The Jets went ”Bang bang,” as the great Dennis Beyak used to say. Just 16 seconds later, Dylan DeMelo fed his partner Josh Morrissey the puck. Morrissey then walked in and fired a slap shot, bar down, top corner on Juuse Saros to extend the lead at 6:46.

The Jets decided that going into the intermission with a two-goal lead wasn’t enough. At 18:36, the red-hot Kyle Connor scored his 23rd goal of the season. Mark Scheifele set him up with a crisp tape-to-tape pass, and Connor made no mistake, firing it past Juuse Saros to give Winnipeg a 3-0 lead.

On Connor’s goal, Ville Heinola would record his first point of the season, and his first point since 2023. It has been a long road for the Finnish blue liner.

The Jets would head into the 1st intermission up 3-0. Shots were slightly in Winnipeg’s favour, 11-10.

The second period didn’t live up to the excitement of the first, turning into more of a snooze fest for Jets fans.

Unfortunately, things took a turn when Josh Morrissey left the game early in the second after losing his balance and crashing into the goal post of the Jets’ net. He limped off to the bench before heading to the dressing room. Heartbreaking news for Winnipeg, as their No. 1 defenseman was forced to leave the game.

Nashville would score the only goal of the period when Neal Pionk took a delay of game penalty, putting the Jets shorthanded. On the kill, Logan Stanley failed to clear the zone after a faceoff win in the Jets own end, giving Nashville the chance to cycle the puck before Filip Forsberg ripped a shot high over the shoulder of Connor Hellebuyck to make it 3-1 at 16:45.

After 4o minutes concluded, the shots were 21-16 in favour of Winnipeg.

Winnipeg got their only power play of the game in the third and made quick work of it. Mark Scheifele found Nikolaj Ehlers at the left faceoff dot, who slap-passed it in front to Gabriel Vilardi, who put it past Saros to make it 4-1 at the 7:51 mark of the third period.

Nashville and their captain, Roman Josi, struck back at 9:25. Josi’s point shot was redirected off Stanley’s skate and into the back of the net. Unironically, it’s not Stanley’s night.

Just over a minute later, Stanley was sent off for a high-sticking double minor, followed shortly by a weak hooking call on Connor. The Jets managed to kill it off thanks to Pionk, DeMelo and great goaltending from Hellebuyck, earning them a loud ovation from the crowd once the penalties were over.

With 2:50 remaining in the third, the Predators pulled Saros for an extra attacker. However, Nino Niederreiter sealed the win with a long-range shot into the empty net at 2:05.

This game was far from perfect, but two points are two points. The Jets battled hard, especially with some shaky defensive pairings and a few undisciplined moments. Despite that, they found a way to get back into the win column.

Of course, the main concern is Josh Morrissey, who left the game with an injury. The Jets are already dealing with too many injured defensemen, and losing their top guy would be a massive blow. We’ll have to wait and see how serious the injury is.

The Jets hit the halfway point of their season-long eight-game homestand on Friday when the Los Angeles Kings visit Canada Life Centre. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. CT, and the game will be on TSN3.

Be sure to check back here for pre-game notes and the post-game article.