The Winnipeg Jets are less than two months away from opening the 2018-2019 NHL Season. And man, I couldn’t be more ready for it to happen. But while we do, let’s mark our calendar’s for some good games.
The Winnipeg Jets open their season in St. Louis, visiting the Blues. That would be more interesting had A) the Blues been good last season or B) Paul Stastny hung around on the Winnipeg Jets.
So, the opener of the season doesn’t come with any extra intrigue. You believe I’ll still be tuning in, it being the first game of the year, but it doesn’t make the cut. You can see the full schedule here, since I’m just picking games I think are interesting.
You can peruse it at your leisure and pick whatever boring games you’re looking forward to. Sounds like fun. But here’s what I’m looking forward to.
Tuesday, October 9, vs. LA Kings
This is the home opener, but the third game of the season. It’s been a long off-season in Winnipeg, and we know the fans and the team are itching to play meaningful games at Bell MTS again. This is their start.
Also of note, I really, really despise the LA Kings. Quite possibly my least favorite NHL team. So, I’m looking forward to the Jets coming out with some passion and hanging a 5 spot on Jonathan Quick. Mark it down.
Thursday, October 11 at Nashville
The Preds! The Winnipeg Jets return to the scene of the crime. The Nashville Predators were last year’s President’s Trophy winners, but they lost to the Jets in the Western Conference Semifinals. It was a great series, even if you’re not a Jets fan.
But the Predators are feeling sour about the end of last season, too, and they’ll get to face the reason why quite early in the season. Also, it’s a divisional game.
Sat, Oct 27 vs Toronto Maple Leafs
This is the second of a back-to-back and the second time the Jets play the Leafs in four days. I’d rather see how the team responds during a home game after having played the night before.
The Leafs are going to be interesting, mostly due to the addition of John Tavares. They were already pretty interesting. But this could be a really, really fun Stanley Cup Preview.
Thurs/Friday, November 1&2 vs Florida Panthers
The Panthers are terribly boring as a team. This is just fun because it’s the NHL’s Global Series! The game will be played in Finland. And you can be sure everyone over there will be rooting for the Winnipeg Jets.
I’m pretty sure they’re big Patrik Laine fans over there. Also, Teemu Selanne played for the old Jets, once upon a time. And it should be a matchup in the team’s favor.
Sunday, December 2 at New York Rangers
Who doesn’t want to play at Madison Square Garden? The Rangers don’t look to be very good next season, but Henrik Lundqvist is always fun to watch. Hopefully he’ll be in for this game.
Either way, it’s a wonderful place to be, and I hope to actually be in attendance. I might be at some of the games in Tampa, as well. This one’s just for me.
Tuesday, January 15 vs Vegas Golden Knights
The revenge game! And it’s at home. This is where the season ended, and this is who it ended against. I do not expect the Golden Knights to be as good this coming season.
But hey, we were all underrating them all last year, too. But I’ll believe it when I see it. Either way, this will be a nice one for Jets fans to take home.
Tuesday, March 5 and Sunday, March 10 – at Lightning, at Capitals
This is a dualie. Hopefully the standings will be fun and this is a four game road trip toward the end of the season. Also, it’s two of the East’s best squads, including the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. This will be a good test for Winnipeg.
That’s the hits. There are other interesting games, no doubt. On Dec 22 the Sharks, and Evander Kane come to Winnipeg. The Pens visit on January 4. The Oilers on NYE will be fun, mostly due to McDavid (but secretly for me, Cam Talbot). Also, Laurent Brossoit returns? I guess.
That’s all I saw. The Jets conclude the season on April 6, when the Coyotes come to town. They’re going to be awful, so that should be a “last day of eighth grade” situation, where the Jets just get to watch movies and chat the whole third period.
Either way, maybe they’ll have traded Derek Stepan to the Jets by then, and it’ll be fun. Can’t wait.