The Winnipeg Jets are now exactly two weeks away from opening their 2026-27 NHL regular season at home against the Boston Bruins. The Jets are also Morgan Barron (36) days away from hosting the Montreal Canadiens at Princess Auto Stadium for the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic. Tickets for all Jets games throughout the 2026-27 season are on sale now. The long days of the NHL off-season are finally over, as we’re now entering day one of pre-season games.

Tonight at Rogers Place the Jets will play their first of four pre-season games to prepare for the 2026-27 NHL season. The Jets and Oilers are one of seven games on the NHL pre-season schedule tonight, as this new shortened training camp begins before the new 84 game regular season game schedule.

The Jets will battle against a team that has been a familiar opponent for them in past pre-seasons, the Edmonton Oilers. The Western Conference championship went to the Vegas Golden Knights last season, but the Oilers were the champs the previous two seasons, and they’ll be eager to get back to this level of play this season.

The injury report for the Winnipeg Jets (including players who likely won’t make the team) has three names: Walker Duehr, Garrett Brown, and Elias Salomonsson, who is targeting his return in late October. The Oilers have two players with undisclosed injuries: Alec Regula and Mattias Janmark. Both players will continue to skate with the Oilers during training camp, but they won’t play in any of their four pre-season games.

Rosén – Björk – Lambert

He – Yager – Ford

Chibrikov – Zhilkin – Gregor

Barlow – Julien – Wahlin

Fleury – St. Ivany

Thrun – Bauer

Phillips – Gustafsson

Milic

Poulter

The confirmed starting goalie for the Jets is Thomas Milic, who will be battling for the Jets back up spot depending on how the Connor Hellebuyck situation unfolds. The Jets lineup is primarily young players or prospects for this first pre-season game, which is the approach most teams take to give players a chance to get some ice time before being sent back down to their junior or pro teams. The top forward line will be especially exciting to keep an eye on, as the newly acquired Isak Rosén will be on a line with top prospects Viggo Björk and Brad Lambert.

Draisaitl – McDavid – Podkolzin

Formenton – Dach – Joseph

Jones – Samanski – Howard

Nicholl – Michaels – Griffith

Shea – Bouchard

Stastney – Emberson

Still – Brown

Jarry

Tomkins

The Oilers lineup is much more experienced than the Jets, featuring a stacked first line with two star players. Drasaitl and McDavid will probably get less ice time than usual for this game, but they’re used to playing in a few of the earlier pre-season games in past seasons. The 2nd line features two newly signed players (Formenton and Joseph) and a recently acquired centre in Colton Dach, a young player who is expected to play his first full NHL season in the 2026-27 season in the Oilers bottom six. Tristan Jarry is the Oilers expected starting goalie, the only returning Oilers goalie from last season. Frederik Andersen is the projected starter when he recovers from a knee injury, and Devon Levi has good upside, but Jarry (acquired last season) will be ramping up his game as the likely starter for the Oilers regular season opening night.

Tonight the player to watch from each team will be a talented young forward that will be featured on their team’s first lines for this pre-season game. Brad Lambert is preparing for what should be his first full NHL season. The 22-year old from Finland got his first “extended” look on the Jets last season, scoring 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in 25 games. Lambert’s role last season was quite limited in a bottom six more “shutdown” type of approach, but this season there’s opportunity for Lambert to earn his way into the top six, and that all begins with him showing what he can do in these pre-season games.

After being acquired by the Oilers ahead of the 2024-25 season, Vasili Podkolzin had his true breakout season in the 2025-26 season. The 25-year old played his second straight 82 game season with the Oilers, scoring an impressive 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points. Podkolzin has always had top six potential, and his play style as a hardworking and physical power forward allows him to get opportunities as a winger alongside either Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid. Podkolzin could push for 20 goals this season, and he’s an exciting young player that fans around the league should continue to watch develop.

Puck drop in Edmonton, Alberta is set for just after 7:00 pm CT. Tonight’s game will be a fun first look at a younger Jets roster that will be ready to skate into action against a much more experienced Oilers lineup. It’s a bit of a different feel having four pre-season games instead of six, as each and every game will be a more sizeable step towards announcing the 2026-27 opening night roster.

The 2026 NHL off-season is pretty much over, with pre-season games starting tonight. All 32 teams are now back on the ice getting ready for the 2026-27 season. Stay tuned here on Daily Faceoff Winnipeg for the latest news on the Jets training camp, as well as a recap for the Jets first pre-season game tonight and a look ahead at their remaining three pre-season games.

The Toyota Tacoma is the ultimate power play. Its standard i-FORCE engine delivers more power than ever and a towing capacity of up to 6,400 lbs. It helps you take on challenging landscapes with confidence with its available Panoramic Multi-Terrain View Monitor that provides a live, underfloor view of the terrain you’re tackling. It even makes loading and unloading gear effortless with its available Power Liftgate. Whether it’s for early morning practice or weekend away games, the Tacoma is a teammate you can rely on. Visit your local Prairie Toyota dealer during Red Tag Days for limited-time offers.