The Winnipeg Jets played some Thanksgiving hockey Monday afternoon on Long Island, facing the New York Islanders, and skated away with a 5-2 victory to improve to 2-1-0 on the season. As always, there was plenty to take away from this matchup.

Although it was projected that Connor Hellebuyck would start, Eric Comrie got the call instead, and he did not disappoint. Within the first 20 seconds of the game, Comrie faced three quality scoring chances and turned them all aside, looking calm and composed in his crease.

The 30-year-old goaltender finished with 33 saves on 35 shots, good for a .943 save percentage (SV%).

Comrie getting a start this early in the season shows the coaching staff’s confidence in him to step in and deliver when needed. With the 2026 Winter Olympics on the horizon, where Hellebuyck is expected to be the starting goalie for Team USA, the Jets could look to give Comrie around 25 starts to help manage the workload.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel praised Comrie after the win, saying:

“Outstanding. He had to be really good, especially in the first 10 minutes of that game. They had some point-blank ones where he came up large and kept us in that game and kept the building a little quieter.”

The Jets’ penalty kill was excellent once again, shutting down all five of the Islanders’ power plays. Winnipeg stayed disciplined and structured, with Dylan DeMelo, Tanner Pearson, and Alex Iafallo all coming up huge with key blocked shots.

Comrie made several important saves when needed, but overall, the Islanders had limited shooting lanes as the Jets did a strong job forcing chances to the outside.

To start the season, Winnipeg has killed off 14 of 15 penalties, the only goal coming from the Dallas Stars in the home opener.

While the top line of Gabriel Vilardi, Mark Scheifele, and Kyle Connor continues to click, the Jets’ depth players stole the spotlight on Monday.

Morgan Barron opened the scoring, Nino Niederreiter doubled the lead on the power play, Logan Stanley made it 3-1, and Tanner Pearson notched his first goal as a Jet to make it 4-1 before Scheifele sealed it with an empty-netter.

Getting offensive contributions from throughout the lineup is crucial early in the year, especially with key players like Cole Perfetti and Adam Lowry sidelined.

The Jets wrap up their quick two-game Eastern Conference road trip on Thursday when they face the Philadelphia Flyers. Puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. CDT on TSN3.