PITTSBURGH – Last weekend, the Winnipeg Jets (28-29-11) faced a pair of afternoon games against Central Division rivals and came out on top in both of them.
This weekend, they may not be facing divisional foes, but they’re looking for the exact same result.
It all starts this afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins (34-18-16), a team the Jets beat back in November by a score of 5-2. To sweep the season series, and even their record on the three-game road trip, the Jets know they’ll have to play as a connected group of five in all three zones.
That’s one of the areas that forward Cole Koepke felt the Jets had trouble with in Thursday’s 6-1 loss in Boston.
“We were a little bit inconsistent about what we were doing and working within a structure of five at times,” he said at Friday’s optional practice. “It wasn’t the result we wanted, but the standings are so close and we have to flush it. We have two games back-to-back here.”
The ability to park a frustrating result is critical at this point of the season. It can be easy to look at a stat like Natural Stat Trick’s high-danger chances at five-on-five from that game in Boston, where the Jets held a 13-8 advantage, and wonder what could have been if they capitalized on some chances early.
Over analyzing those chances doesn’t help going into the Pittsburgh game, however. Instead, Koepke is focusing on how those chances were generated.
“We were ending plays quickly in our own zone, we were quick to support one another. We were defending as a group of five and from there transitioning quick,” he said. “Ending plays early, you have so much more energy to go on offence. That’s where those looks came from, we just need to do that for a full game.”
Perhaps those chances will be available against Pittsburgh if the Jets do the same things. Two of the goals the Penguins gave up in a wild 6-5 overtime loss to Carolina on Thursday were rush plays at even strength – in addition to a shorthanded breakaway.
Even though the Penguins lost that game, it wasn’t all bad news. They did get a point to help them in their battle with Columbus in the Metropolitan Division and captain Sidney Crosby returned after missing 11 games with the injury he sustained against Czechia at the 2026 Olympic Games.
The 38-year-old Crosby had a goal and an assist in his return.
“He starts everything for their team. It seems to go through him and revolve around him. He’s obviously a world class player,” said Koepke. “They’re in the heat of it as well, they’re having a good season. We have to make sure we’re ready. Come out with a game plan and it’s probably going to be a playoff like game here on out from our side. We’re playing teams that are also in the mix, so we expect that both ways.”
With the Jets holding an optional practice, line-up information won’t be available until warm-up. One of the participants in the optional skate was defenceman Neal Pionk, who has missed the last 23 games with multiple injuries. He initially left the line-up in mid-January with a lower-body injury and was looking set to return following the Olympic break before an undisclosed injury in the second to last practice sidelined him again.
Jets head coach Scott Arniel said Pionk – who wore a regular jersey in Thursday’s morning skate and the optional practice – could be an option as early as this weekend.
Puck drop is set for noon CT.
