CHICAGO – A brief look at the National Hockey League standings would show that tonight’s opponent for the Winnipeg Jets is in a much different spot than the first-place Colorado Avalanche – who the Jets beat on Saturday – but that doesn’t mean Winnipeg’s focus can be any different.
There are just nine games left in the regular season schedule and the Jets (31-30-12) remain three points back of the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. No matter who is in front of them, they need to continue to find points.
So while the Chicago Blackhawks (27-34-13) are coming off a four-game road trip that ended with three consecutive losses, the Jets know exactly what Chicago is capable of. After all, the Blackhawks shut out Winnipeg 2-0 at United Center on January 19 – when Jonathan Toews made his return to Chicago and received a thunderous (and lengthy) ovation.
The Jets have won two of the three games in the season series so far, including a 3-2 overtime win back on March 3 at Canada Life Centre. Since returning from the Olympic break, Winnipeg is 9-4-4, the 11th best mark in the NHL.
“We know how to win, we know how to take care of business,” said Mark Scheifele, who had an assist in Saturday’s road trip opening win in Denver. “Everyone’s demeanor going into games, just working their hardest and giving it their all and I think the biggest thing is just confidence in our team, confidence in our group and going from there.”
Winnipeg’s confidence is showing through. This season, the Jets are 13-12-12 in one-goal games. However, since the Olympics, their record in that situation is 4-1-4, and the argument could be made that both wins over Colorado this month (with scores of 3-1 and 4-2) required empty-netters to become two-goal victories.
Dylan DeMelo feels the group’s confidence is showing in the third period, where they have a plus-five goal differential since February 25 (17-12).
“We had some stretches there where we’d have leads and we’re sitting on our heels and letting them just come at us. Safe is death in this league,” said DeMelo. “You don’t need to be careless - obviously - when you’re up, but you still have to play with assertiveness and play on your toes. We kind of got away from that and I feel like we’ve done a better job of that now. Even if we’re up a goal or up two goals, we’re still trying to go after teams, still trying to apply pace, apply pressure on teams. I feel like it has been paying off for us.”
DeMelo was one of the numerous Jets that took part in Monday’s optional practice in Chicago. Winnipeg took Sunday off to attend the Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field as a team, taking full advantage of the two days between games.
“I think this was our first two-day break in three weeks,” said DeMelo, who played 21:54 against the Avalanche, one of four Jets defencemen over 20 minutes in the game.
As for the Blackhawks, tonight’s tilt with the Jets is a one-game stop at home before heading right back on the road for three more. Chicago’s three consecutive losses to the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, and New Jersey Devils have had a combined score of 16-5 as the young team adjusts to the departure of veterans like captain Nick Foligno and Jason Dickinson.
Still, Chicago has the likes of Connor Bedard (who has already hit the 30-goal mark this season for the first time) and other exciting young forwards like Anton Frondell, who was selected third overall by the Blackhawks in the 2025 NHL Draft. Frondell has four assists in four NHL games so far, including his first multi-point game with two assists in the 5-3 loss to New Jersey on Sunday.
That’s just part of the reason why the Jets will need to every bit as detailed as they were on Saturday.
“That’s what we need this time of year,” said Scheifele. “It was a resilient game. We were playing against the best team in the league and the star power they have on the Avs. to be in a tight game, back and forth all game, to come out with a win and get some greasy goals and guys blocking shots and doing all that stuff, it took a full team effort. It was a great game through and through.”
Not only will Winnipeg need that effort tonight. They’ll need it every night for the rest of the season.
“We’ve been trying to stay in the fight,” said DeMelo. “Guys are digging in and playing hard. We’re picking up wins and getting points and just trying to stay in the fight here. It’s going to go down to the wire. We’re just hoping to keep accumulating them and get in there.”
Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm CT.
