The Winnipeg Jets begin 2020 by hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at Bell MTS Place tonight…The Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-4 on New Year’s Eve to pick up their first win since the Christmas break…After tonight’s game, the Jets head out on a four-game road trip, which begins Saturday afternoon against the Minnesota Wild.
Game Notes PDF | Expanded Game Notes
Last Game
Dec. 31 at COL – 7-4 W
Jets Scorers: Wheeler (12, 13), Scheifele (18), Connor (18, 19, 20), Ehlers (16)
Avalanche Scorers: Mackinnon (23, 24), Landeskog (10), Kadri (13)
Jets Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck (39 sv, 4 ga)
Avalanche Goaltender: Philipp Grubauer (19 sv, 5 ga)
Jets PP: 1-for-1
Jets PK: 2-for-4
Recap: Kyle Connor tallied a hat trick, while Mark Scheifele had a goal and three assists to lead the Jets to a 7-4 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night…Blake Wheeler also scored twice for the Jets, while Nikolaj Ehlers sealed the win with an empty net goal in the final seconds…Connor led the Jets with eight shots, which accounted for 30.8% of Winnipeg’s shots in the game…Connor Hellebuyck made 39 saves for the win.
Three Stars: 1. Connor 2. MacKinnon 3. Hellebuyck
Next Five Games
| Date | Time (Local) | Opponent | Venue | TV | Radio |
| Jan. 4 | 1:00 p.m. | At Minnesota | Xcel Energy Center | TSN3 | TSN 1290 |
| Jan. 6 | 7:00 p.m. | At Montreal | Bell Centre | TSN3 | TSN 1290 |
| Jan. 8 | 7:30 p.m. | At Toronto | Scotiabank Arena | Sportsnet | TSN 1290 |
| Jan. 9 | 7:00 p.m. | At Boston | TD Garden | TSN3 | TSN 1290 |
| Jan. 12 | 1:00 p.m. | Nashville | Bell MTS Place | TSN3 | TSN 1290 |
Halfway Point
tonight marks the halfway point of Winnipeg’s 2019-20 campaign…At 22-15-3, the Jets have reached 22 wins by the midway point of the season for the third consecutive season…Since relocation in 2011 and excluding the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, the Jets have posted a .500 or better points percentage in first half of each season and have a combined record of 167-125-35…Last season, Winnipeg set a franchise record with 26 wins in the first half of the season.
First Half Records Since Relocation |
||||||
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OL | Pts. |
| 2011-12 | 41 | 20 | 16 | 0 | 5 | 45 |
| 2013-14 | 41 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 41 |
| 2014-15 | 41 | 20 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 47 |
| 2015-16 | 41 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 41 |
| 2016-17 | 41 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 41 |
| 2017-18 | 41 | 23 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 53 |
| 2018-19 | 41 | 26 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 54 |
| 2019-20 | 40 | 22 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 47 |
Recapping December
The Jets went 6-5-1 in December to finish with 14 points, which was tied for the 17th in the NHL…Winnipeg scored 48 goals in the month, which was fifth in the league, and its power play was sixth at 25.6%…The Jets penalty kill was tied for last in the NHL in December at 63.8%… It’s the worst month for the Jets penalty kill since going 63.6% in January 2013, but that was during only seven games during the lockout-shortened season…Mark Scheifele finished third in NHL scoring in December with 20 points (9G, 11A) in 13 games…He had a point in 11 of the 13 games and posted six multi-point games…Kyle Connor was tied for eighth in league scoring last month with 17 points (10G, 7A)…Connor’s 10 goals were tied for third.
Fresh Start at Home
The Jets enter 2020 having lost four consecutive home games (0-3-1)…Winnipeg is 10-8-2 at home this season, which includes a five-game winning streak from Nov. 23-Dec. 15…After playing seven of their first 10 games on the road to start the second half of the season, the Jets have a stretch of nine of 10 games at home from Jan. 31-Feb. 16.
Can Con
The Jets are 3-1-0 against their Canadian counterparts in the NHL this season…The Jets play three of their next four games against Canadian opponents.
KC Hatty
Kyle Connor scored Winnipeg’s first hat trick of the season on Tuesday against Colorado…It was his second career hat trick (Mar. 23/19 vs. NSH 5-0 W)…Connor’s third goal was his 20th of the season, which leads the Jets…After scoring 31 and 34 goals in his past two seasons, Connor is on pace to reach 40 goals for the first time in his career.
900 GP
Captain Blake Wheeler played in his 900th career game on Tuesday…He’s played 679 games with the Jets franchise after starting his career by playing 221 games with the Boston Bruins…Wheeler is just the fourth player from the 2005 NHL Draft to reach 900 games played, joining Alexander Ovechkin (1,125), Travis Zajac (961), and former teammate Andrew Ladd (947).
Jets vs. Maple Leafs Information
Overall: 27-27-7
Home: 15-14-2
Away: 12-13-5
At Bell MTS Place: 7-3-0
Media Guide Page: https://jetsmedia.ca/Toronto-maple-leafs
Jets vs. Maples Leafs Notes
- The Jets have earned points in 11 of their past 14 games against the Maple Leafs (9-3-2), but were swept in the season series last season.
- The Jets are 11-5-3 against the Maple Leafs since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season.
- Winnipeg has scored a power play goal in three consecutive games against Toronto (3-for-8, 37.5%).
- The Jets went a perfect four-for-four on the penalty kill against the Maple Leafs last season.
- The Jets have been held to three goals or less in each of their past four games against the Maple Leafs.
- Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in career scoring against Toronto with 29 points (12G, 17A) in 36 games.
- Ontario-born Mark Scheifele has 16 points (9G, 7A) in 12 career games against the Maple Leafs.
- Patrik Laine has five goals and six points in six career games against Toronto.
Career Scoring vs. Maple Leafs
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PPG |
| Blake Wheeler | 36 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 0.81 |
| Bryan Little | 30 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 0.90 |
| Mark Scheifele | 12 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 1.33 |
| Dmitry Kulikov | 28 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0.43 |
| Mark Letestu | 16 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 0.75 |
| Mathieu Perreault | 18 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 0.67 |
| Patrik Laine | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1.00 |
| Nathan Beaulieu | 17 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0.29 |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0.63 |
| Josh Morrissey | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.50 |
| Gabriel Bourque | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.40 |
| Kyle Connor | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.50 |
| Andrew Copp | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.40 |
| Adam Lowry | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.20 |
| Neal Pionk | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.67 |
| Luca Sbisa | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.20 |
| Logan Shaw | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.13 |
| Nicholas Shore | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.20 |
| Anthony Bitetto | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Carl Dahlstrom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jack Roslovic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Career Goaltending Against Maple Leafs
| Player | GP | W | L | OTL | ShO | Sv% | GAA |
| Connor Hellebuyck | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.911 | 3.02 |
| Laurent Brossoit | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.897 | 3.04 |
Former Maple Leafs Playing for the Jets
F – Nick Shore
Former Jets Playing for the Maple Leafs
G – Michael Hutchinson
Upcoming Milestones
Andrew Copp
- Needs two points to reach 100 for his NHL career.
Nikolaj Ehlers
- Needs three goals to pass Marian Hossa (108) for 10th in goals in franchise history.
Connor Hellebuyck
- Needs one shutout to pass Ondrej Pavelec (17) for the most shutouts in franchise history.
Patrik Laine
- Needs one assist to reach 100 assists for his NHL career
Bryan Little
- Needs seven penalty minutes to reach 300 for his NHL career.
Adam Lowry
- Needs three games played to reach 400 for his NHL career.
Mathieu Perreault
- Needs six penalty minutes to reach 300 for his NHL career.
- Needs three goals to pass Dany Heatley (80) for 12th in goals in franchise history.
- Needs four assists to pass Marc Savard (133) for 11th in assists in franchise history.
Recently Accomplished Milestones
Adam Lowry
- 3 vs. DAL – Reached 200 penalty minutes for his NHL career.
Josh Morrissey
- 21 at MIN – Reached 100 points for his NHL career.
Mark Scheifele
- 8 vs. ANA – Reached 400 points for his NHL career.
Logan Shaw
- 17 vs. CAR – Played in his 200th career NHL game.
Blake Wheeler
- 10 vs. DET – Reached 200 goals as a member of the Jets franchise.
- 21 at MIN – Became the leading scorer in franchise history with 616 points
- 31 at COL – Played in his 900th NHL game.
Recent Transactions
Dec. 13 – Loaned F – David Gustafsson to Sweden for the 2020 World Junior Championship
Dec. 18 – Placed F – Andrew Copp and F – Mathieu Perreault on injured reserve; Recalled F – Mason Appleton and F – Jansen Harkins from the Manitoba Moose (AHL)
Dec. 19 – Claimed G – Eric Comrie off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings
Dec. 28 – Placed G – Eric Comrie on waivers
Dec. 29 – Reassigned G – Eric Comrie to the Manitoba Moose (AHL)
Dec. 31 – Activated F – Mathieu Perreault from injured reserve
Current Injuries
| Player | Injury | Date Injured | Games Missed |
| Mark Letestu* | Upper Body | — | 33 |
| Bryan Little* | Upper Body | Nov. 5 vs NJD | 24 |
| Dmitry Kulikov* | Upper Body | Nov. 29 at ANA | 14 |
| Andrew Copp* | Upper Body | Nov. 17 vs. CAR | 6 |
*- Currently on injured reserve
Man-Games Lost: 147
How the Jets Were Built
Drafted (13) – Appleton, Connor, Copp, Ehlers, Harkins, Hellebuyck, Laine, Little, Lowry, Morrissey, Poolman, Scheifele, Roslovic
Trade (3) – Beaulieu, Pionk, Wheeler
Free Agency (8) – Bitetto, Bourque, Brossoit, Kulikov, Letestu, Luoto, Perreault, Shaw
Waivers (3) – Dahlstrom, Sbisa, Shore
Moose Tracks
The Manitoba Moose swept a two-game series with the Rockford IceHogs thanks to a 4-3 win on New Year’s Eve…The Moose are 17-18-0 on the season and sit in fifth place in the Central Division…Kristian Vesalainen led the Moose with a goal and two assists in the New Year’s Eve victory…Manitoba finishes a six-game homestand with a pair of games this weekend against the Colorado Eagles on Friday and Saturday.
Broadcast Information
TV: TSN3 – Brian Munz & Kevin Sawyer
Radio: TSN 1290 – Paul Edmonds & Trevor Kidd
Jets Communications
Jets Media Site: jetsmedia.ca
Jets Media Guide: jetsmedia.ca/media-guide