"We mentioned that this morning when we were doing our pre-scout meeting, that we haven't seen them in a long time," Evason said. "Different team, different year, different league. It seems to be a theme."
For guys like Jonas Brodin and Marcus Foligno, who have played starring roles in the once-simmering rivalry between the two clubs stationed just 466 miles apart -- by driving distance, Minnesota's second-closest team after Chicago.
"It's kind of weird, and it was the same feeling playing Chicago in the preseason," Brodin said. "It's like, 'I haven't seen this team for two years."
When presented with the number of days it has been, Brodin's eyes grew large.
"Wow, that's crazy," he said. "But we know them from before and how they play."
Foligno understands the rivalry between the clubs perhaps better than anyone. Heck, he once
went into the Jets bench
during a game looking for anyone that wanted to drop the mitts.
That's where this rivalry was in recent years, and despite the lengthy layoff, the hope is that it won't take long to rekindle that kind of animosity.
"It has always been heated games against them," Foligno said. "It's just fun, good crowd. And we're looking forward to our home crowd too, which will be exciting. That always plays into it."
While the relatively short distance between the clubs has always served as a match to the fuse for this rivalry, it was the five-game playoff series between the clubs in 2018 that really ratcheted up the intensity.
Only six guys that played for the Wild in Game 5 of that series remain on the roster now, but Foligno said he won't have to show his new teammates the YouTube video of his foray into the Jets bench in November of the following season to get them to understand just how heated these games have been in the past.
Watch: Youtube Video
Those players have an idea of just what it will be like, and if they don't, it likely won't take long to get a glimpse. The fact the Wild has started 2-0 and the Jets 0-2 underscores that point even further.
Winnipeg is expected to come out hungry and desperate for a win. Teams can't win a division championship in October, but they can lose it ... and a six-point hole in the first week is a position no team wants to be in.
Especially when the Central Division standings are expected to be tight all year long.
"I don't think it needs to be really brought up and talked about too much," Foligno said. "Guys coming in know when you get traded or you sign somewhere, you know what the rivalries are already, you kinda know what teams are expected to play hard against each other.
"I think people just know, being close to each other, just cross border, guys are gonna know what to expect coming from Winnipeg and understand it's always going to be a fun and energetic game."
Behind the bench, Evason said the game Tuesday will carry no extra weight for him. He didn't grow up a Jets fan, so playing Manitoba's team - especially in St. Paul - will be just another in a long line of Central Division games that will act as four-point contests all season long.
With Evason moving up a step to head coach since the last time these clubs met, even the pre-scout prep can be a different experience. Assistant coach Brett McLean, who runs the club's forwards, was an assistant coach with the Iowa Wild the last time Minnesota and Winnipeg crossed paths.
But McLean played against Paul Maurice-coached teams and Winnipeg runs a similar system to that of their own AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, so McLean was a quick study when putting together his portion of the game plan.
"It's exciting to see different teams, for sure," McLean said. "From a coach's perspective, the pre-scout, it really is the same process, whether we know an opponent well. Obviously, we know what to look for when you know an opponent well, but we still look for the same stuff and take the same step-by-step process.
"And teams can always throw in a new wrinkle."
