As a lifelong fan of all three reincarnations of the Winnipeg Jets hockey team, I’m well aware that we fans have faced more than our share of disappointments over the years. Still, I’m not sure any previous version of the Jets has been as daunting as the 2025-2026 roster.
After a stellar campaign that saw them win their first President’s Trophy, the True North franchise’s trajectory has absolutely plummeted this season, with the club going from the best team in the NHL to the worst in the span of 365 days. That’s not an easy feat without significant roster turnover, and it was certainly difficult to watch for us fans. Perhaps even more troubling… we still have more than half of the season to go.
Speaking of which, I was admittedly caught off guard when Winnipeg played again today… a sign that even a fanatic like me is already letting my mind wander to the upcoming draft in an attempt to mentally fast-forward the rest of the Jets’ regular season. Today’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs will mark our team’s fourth consecutive situation of the year, with five games remaining in the second half of the season. So far, Winnipeg has only lost the opening match twice to win the second match, while the other set went the opposite route as the Jets won the first game only to drop the follow-up match.
The fighter jets (15-19-4) have amassed a whopping 34 points in 38 games this year, putting them in the basement of the NHL. The leaves (18-15-6) barely lightens things up in their first season without Mitch Marnerbut with 42 points in 39 games they are in 21st place in the league. Winnipeg ranks 27th in the NHL in goals scored (108) while the 11th fewest against (116). Toronto is more or less the opposite, with the eleventh most goals (128) and the 22nd fewest goals conceded (129).
Entering their first game of 2026, the True Northers have dropped seven games in a row, part of a 1-7-3 record over their last eleven games. The Maple Leafs are coming off a win over the New Jersey Devils, but have gone just 4-4-2 in their last ten games.
Tonight’s pivotal matchup at 6pm between Winnipeg and Toronto features franchises with the following stats, via ESPN‘S comparison numbers of team and goalkeeper:
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The Toronto Maples Leafs are in a bit of disarray right now, with a star forward William Nylander expect them to be out of the lineup and other players like defensemen Brandon Carlo & Chris Tanev and goalkeeper Anthony Stolarz also injured. Winnipeg, on the other hand, is completely healthy, not that it has helped them much.
No pre-game skate today due to the quick turnaround….so here’s how PuckPedia currently predicts which players will line up:
WINNIPEG JETS ALIGNING
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TORONTO MAPLE LEAVES IN A LINE
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Since there’s not much more to say… I’ll just throw some more stats at you by default instead. Here are the top 10 scorers for both clubs at this point in the season, courtesy of ESPN:
WINNIPEG
TORONTO
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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AFTER-GAME INFO
Score overview: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE: Toronto maple leaves 6 Winnipeg Jets 5
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Game Statistics: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected goals (all): WPG 3.89 TOR 2.74
Expected goals (5on5): TOR 2.44 WPG 2.34
Winnipeg threw four lines for the most part, getting playing time between 9:22 and 2:57. The Scheifele line led the way, conceding two even-strength goals for the Jets…but also conceding three Lowry & Substitutes units also conceded goals, although only the captain’s trio could even things out by scoring themselves. The Ropes defensively the line was great, giving Toronto the fewest xGs.
The decision to mate Morrissey & Pionk together they achieved the expected results offensively, as the duo was on the ice for two of the Jets’ even-strength goals. Unfortunately, they were also busy with three Maple Leaf goals, which was probably to be expected since neither tends to thrive on their own. The Samberg–The Melo the pairing was very good on both sides of the ice in their 17 minutes together, ending with the most xGs for Winnipeg and the fewest xGs for Toronto. Yet they only broke even in the actual goalscoring battle.
Comrie had already scored a few goals that shouldn’t have gone past him… then he bobbles the puck to give the opponent the winning goal. Definitely not his night. The backup’s play has not been good since he was called up to take over for the injured Hellebuyck. He better find the confidence to play like he did last year and at the beginning of this season… because Bucky can’t play the entire second half of the season.
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BOJA’S thoughts after the game:
Another game where the Winnipeg Jets win the expected goals battle. The struggling offense finally broke through… but was stifled by a very poor goaltending performance. It would be comical if I wasn’t emotionally involved with the club, but the boys keep finding ways to surprise me this season. Unfortunately, not in a good way.
#Winnipeg #Jets #Toronto #Maple #Leafs