CHICAGO – As memorable as the road trip opening victory was for the Winnipeg Jets (9-8-3) in Dallas against the Stars, the National Hockey League schedule doesn’t allow them to celebrate it too long.
In fact, the group was back on the ice Friday preparing for today’s matinee tilt with another division rival – the Chicago Blackhawks (5-13-1).
The main focus of the practice was to get some touches and work through flow drills, as the afternoon puck drop in Chicago doesn’t allow for a morning skate on Saturday. Despite all the offensive success the Jets enjoyed against the Stars, head coach Scott Arniel knows his club will face another challenge in the Blackhawks.
After all, each of the last three meetings between the two teams have gone to overtime. Winnipeg won the final two games of the season series in the extra frame last season, while Chicago’s Artyom Levshunov’s overtime winner on October 15 gave the Blackhawks the win last month.
“They always give us a tough game in here,” said Arniel, who picked up his 100th win as Jets head coach on Thursday. “You can’t take your foot off the gas. These Central Division points (and) the Western Conference. We’ve played 12 of our 20 games against the East. Now we’re starting to run into some of the West and if we’re going to make (up) ground, these are the teams that you’ve got to make sure that in your division that you take advantage of it.”
A win on Saturday would not only give Winnipeg their sixth in a row, it would also make for a perfect record on the Mentors Trip. The bonding has been evident off the ice, with all the mentors meeting the players as they skated off the ice following the 8-3 final in Dallas.
“The players weren’t expecting to see that. So that was great,” smiled Arniel.
Perhaps the biggest smile was on the face of Gabriel Vilardi, who has brought his grandfather on the trip. When Vilardi was awarded the player of the game safety rope (a nod to the team’s bonding trip in Colorado Springs in the preseason), his grandfather was front and centre.
“It was really cool. A cool experience for both of us,” said Vilardi. “Something I’ll never forget and I’m sure he’ll never forget as well. He’s having a great time here. He doesn’t know what’s going on half the time, but when he does he’s enjoying it. It’s been cool to see that side of him.”
The other thing Vilardi was happy to see? One of his scoring chances on the ice find the back of the net. He’s been vocal about his expectations on himself after a career-high 30 goals and 69 points in 2025-26, and his tally against the Stars could be the spark he’s looking for.
“It’s been frustrating but it hasn’t been concerning. I’ve had chances,” said Vilardi. “It seems like it has been all year, it’s been frustrating but at the same time when you get looks - you just have to have more of a killer instinct to bury them. It was nice to score.”
The 27-year-old Vilardi feels that Winnipeg’s offensive play – especially since the historic comeback in Montreal – has been driven by small improvements in key areas.
“Our D have done a much better job of keeping pucks alive, holding the line and forcing teams to play more defence. I think we’ve had more O-zone time because of that,” he said. “I think defensively we’ve been a little sharper and haven’t given up as many good looks.”
Winnipeg’s line-up won’t be finalized until after warm-up, but Dylan DeMelo’s lower-body injury will keep him out week-to-week, which led to the Jets recalling Henry Thrun from the Manitoba Moose on Friday. Isak Rosen also got banged up against Dallas and won’t play against Chicago.
The line rushes at practice looked like this:
