Preview: New Jersey Devils @ Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets locked up a playoff spot with an entertaining 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, becoming just the second NHL franchise to book their ticket to the post-season. And it seems that Mother Nature may just be a Jets’ fan….because over the past 12 hours she has blanketed the city of Winnipeg in drifts of snow to symbolize the coming of the “White Out” to the Canada Life Centre. I’ll admit that is not exactly what you want to see in late March…but I appreciate the support for the True Northers, even if my back does not like the extra shoveling.
After a couple days off that saw newly acquired defensemen Luke Schenn get the chance to visit his family in Nashville and star sniper Kyle Connor to welcome his first baby into the world, the boys will be back in action tonight when the New Jersey Devils visit Manitoba.
While Winnipeg (49-19-4) may have locked up a playoff spot, they still have a lot of work to do to secure the top place in the Central Division, as the Dallas Stars continue to pile up wins to keep the magic number at 8. The Jets will be without some key players, with Gabriel Vilardi & Neal Pionk on the sidelines with injuries, but they are coming off one of the better defensive performances of the season so I expect another competitive match this evening.
New Jersey (38-28-7) opened up their road trip with a victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, but were winless in the preceding three game homestand. The Devils are not without injuries of their own, with elite center Jack Hughes, defenseman Dougie Hamilton, and forward Cody Glass (6 pts in 8 gms with NJ since being picked up at the deadline) likely to miss the game tonight.
Here is how PuckPedia is predicting the coaching staffs will lineup the players when the puck drops at 7 pm Central:
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The New Jersey Devils visit will bring a return of a couple former Winnipeg Jets, with defensemen Brenden Dillon & Johnny Kovacevic coming back to the Peg. While I always appreciated Dillon’s style of play, it is the right-handed Kovacevic that I really regret our club losing to a waiver-claim. Watching his development with the Manitoba Moose, I always thought that Johnny would pan out as a NHLer and his seasons with the Montreal Canadiens & New Jersey have proved that assessment correct.
Top Five Scorers:
The Jets – Kyle Connor 86 pts, Mark Scheifele 78 pts, Nikolaj Ehlers 61 pts, Gabriel Vilardi 61 pts, & Josh Morrissey 55 pts
The Devils – Jesper Bratt 84 pts, Jack Hughes 70 pts, Nico Hischier 58 pts, Timo Meier 48 pts, & Dougie Hamilton 40 pts
If you want an enemy’s perspective of tonight’s clash, check out SBNation’s article from All About The Jersey in the link below. Here is an interesting quote from their Preview showing how the Jets have done against the Devils over the past seasons:
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2025/3/28/24395569/game-preview-74-new-jersey-devils-winnipeg-jets-hughes-hellebuyck-connor-hischier-bratt-ehlers
Alright, now that we looked at some player statistics…lets move onto how Winnipeg & New Jersey match up based on this year’s numbers, as well as ESPN’s look at the potential starting goalies.
Not sure if you happened to notice in the info above, but the Jets’ powerplay success rate has dropped below the 30% mark for the first time in a very long time. With Gabe on the sidelines, it might be difficult to get them running at top form….but the Jets need to figure out a way to make the man-advantage units a bit more dangerous before the post-season rolls around.
Winnipeg knocked off New Jersey in their prior meeting, a 6-1 blowout in early March that saw speedy Ehlers lead the way with a 3 point night. So….lets hear in the Comment section how you think the clubs’ 2nd match of the season will go??
For myself, I’ve opted to give Connor the BOJA Boost for tonight’s contest in the hopes that it can combat any lack of sleep the new father may be dealing with.
Go Winnipeg!!!!!!!...
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