Back to work to start on the road: Winnipeg Jets vs. Vancouver Canucks Game Day

Tonight, NHL hockey returns from coast to coast. The 2025-2026 NHL season was paused from February 6-24 due to the Winter Olympics, and now the players who were in Italy are back for the final 25+ games. The trade deadline is now just over a week away, and the Jets should be an interesting team to watch on deadline day. The Jets lost 5-1 to the Canadiens in Winnipeg on Feb. 4, and now the Jets embark on a three-game road trip with the first stop in Vancouver.

Tonight, the Jets face a team that is 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and sits comfortably in last place in the standings. The Jets have a ten-point lead over the Canucks, but they are still a long way from a playoff spot. The still 28th overall 22-26-8 Winnipeg Jets and 32nd overall 18-33-6 Canucks will clash at Rogers Arena, with these two teams looking for a win in their first game back.

The Jets and Canucks met earlier this regular season. The season series started more than two months ago in Vancouver, where the Jets battled their way to a 5-3 victory. These two teams haven’t been very evenly matched in their recent games, with the Jets having an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 games against the Canucks. With a win tonight, the Jets would clinch the season series (2-0), with another game against the Canucks in Winnipeg on March 7.

The injury report for the Winnipeg Jets now includes five names. Neal Pionk has an undisclosed injury and is currently week-to-week. Nino Niederreiter, who played for Switzerland at the Olympics, was added to the injury report with an undisclosed injury that will also keep him out week after week. Josh Morrissey was added to the injury reserve on Monday as he is still not fit to play following the injury he suffered in Canada’s first game in Italy. Haydn Fleury struggles with an upper body injury every week and Colin Miller is still recovering from knee surgery. The Canucks currently have too many players to list on their injury report (nine players in total), with return times for several players varying from day to day, while others are out for the remainder of the season.

Jets projected lineup

Connor–Scheifele–Vilardi

Perfetti – Lowry – Iafallo

Niederreiter (to be replaced) – Toews – Namestnikov

Koepke–Barron–Nyquist

Stanley-DeMelo

Samberg-Salomonsson

Heinola-Schenn

Comrie

Hellebuyck

The confirmed (as of Tuesday evening) starting goalkeeper is Eric Comrie, as Hellebuyck gets the evening off after returning from the Olympic Games in Italy just a few days ago. Comrie now has a record of 9-9-1 with a GAA of 3.07 and an SV% of 0.892. The Jets’ lineup will remain largely unchanged from their last game three weeks ago, with the exception of some substitutions for their injured players. Several other Manitoba Moose players were recently recalled, including Dominic DiVincentiis, Ville Heinola, Elias Salomonsson, Walker Duehr and Kale Clague. As usual, some lineup changes may be announced by the Jets prior to the game, so keep an eye on the Jets official X/Twitter account for any late additions or changes to the lineup before the puck drops.

Canucks projected lineup

Kane-Pettersson-DeBrusk

O’Connor–Rossi–Boeser

Ohgren–Blueger–Slinger

Hoglander–Kampf–Karlsson

E. Pettersson – Grape

Buium-Myers

M. Pettersson – Willander

Tolopilo

Patera

The Canucks lineup doesn’t feature a handful of players who are injured, and the lineup now features some recently acquired young players and some veterans who may be on the trade block. Looking at the Canucks’ player stats through 57 games, Elias Pettersson leads the way with just 34 points in 49 games. Nikita Tolopilo is the unconfirmed starting goalkeeper, who will start again with Thatcher Demko out for the season and Kevin Lankinen out after returning from the Olympics. Tolopilo remains a useful third (now backup) option next to Lankinen, and Tolopilo now has a 3-3-1 record with a 3.04 GAA, 0 shutouts, and a .910 SV%.

Jets player to watch: Gabriel Vilardi

Tonight, each team’s player will be a forward looking to score early and often as they return from the break for these Canadian teams. Gabriel Vilardi continues to perform well this season despite being moved up and down the lineup at times. He is third on the Jets with 50 points in 56 games. Vilardi’s consistency hasn’t been talked about enough in the league this season, and while he didn’t have the best start to the season, he is now on pace to surpass his career high of 61 points from last season. In 56 games, Vilardi scored 21 goals and 29 assists, good for 50 points. Look for Vilardi to get on the scoresheet tonight against a team that allows the most goals per game (3.65) in the league.

Canucks player to watch: Elias Pettersson

After an excellent career with 102 points in the 2022/23 season, Elias Pettersson has not been quite the same player over the past two seasons. Everyone on the Canucks is struggling to get points, which translates to them being in last place in the standings. In 49 games this season, Pettersson has 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points, which may not seem like a lot, but it’s still enough to lead the Canucks in points. The Jets will have to watch out for Pettersson, especially on the power play, who is eager to showcase his playmaking skills alongside this rebuilding Canucks roster.

The Puck Drop in Vancouver, British Columbia takes place just after 9:00 PM CST. Tonight’s game will be the first time the Jets are in action since three weeks ago, so you know they’ll be eager to return after the break with a win against this struggling Canadian opponent. Stay tuned here to Jets Nation for a recap of the action as the Jets look to take on the 32nd overall Canucks this Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.

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