GAMEDAY: Blackhawks at Jets

WINNIPEG – It will be a special night for Jonathan Toews as he faces his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks for the first time as the Winnipeg Jets host their Central Division rivals tonight at Canada Life Centre (TSN3, 680 CJOB/Power 97).

Toews is off a to a good start in his return to the NHL after a two-year absence with five points (2G, 3A) in 10 games helping the Jets get off to a 7-3 start to the season. The 37-year-old is excited to face the new look Hawks tonight.

"I've always said I'm very thankful for how things went in Chicago. It was definitely a dream. I had some tougher years towards the end of my time there that help you put things in perspective and make you realize that the success we had is what everyone in the league is going after and it's a really, really hard thing to do," said Toews after the morning skate.

"I think maybe when it happens early in your career, it's not that you take it for granted but, like I said, you kind of assume that it's normal on some level."

The Jets needed an overtime goal on the road from Kyle Connor and 33 saves from Connor Hellebuyck to secure two points in a 4-3 come from behind win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.

“I think we're still growing as a team. I think we got to work on our consistency a bit. That being said, we've shown spurts of, I think, the identity of the team, but it's definitely a work in progress,” said Connor after the game.

“And everybody's motivated in here to get better and push each other. And I would just say, yeah, it's we're kind of building identity still working on it.”

One of the Jets biggest issues from the first 10 game block of the season is consistency over 60 minutes. Their struggles during the second period continued on Tuesday night as they saw a 2-0 lead evaporate in the middle frame against the Wild.

“Again. we will talk about the second period. I loved the way we came out in the first, the second we got loose again. They do a really good job of getting bodies to the net front and they throw a lot of pucks there,” said Scott Arniel on Tuesday.

“We saw that in the first and they capitalized on a few of our mistakes in the second, again it was numbers at the net front by them. I thought we cleaned it up in the third That was a big goal in a divisional game.”

Toews loves the fact that even though the Jets are off to a good start that Arniel isn't fully happy with the teams overall game.

"You win a game but you know you didn’t play your best. You’re not going to rest on your laurels or ride that roller coaster of emotions when you’re high and low," said Toews.

"I think obviously there’s a focus on the process here. That’s really important from our coaching staff and our leadership group in our locker room. It’s definitely a good thing.”

Watch the Jets pregame show "The Check In" at 12:30 CT live or watch it later on YouTube, Facebook or X.

Arniel tried some new line combinations moving Vlad Namestnikov with Toews and Alex Iafallo, Morgan Barron centered Nino Niederreiter and Gustav Nyquist and Parker Ford was in the middle of Cole Koepke and Tanner Pearson. Both Toews line and Barron’s line scored a goal with Namestnikov making it 2-0 in the first and Niederreiter tied it in the third period.

“We are trying to find more offence other than Scheifele’s line and, like you mentioned, all the lines had good chemistry and good zone time. They clicked well together and that is what you hope,” said Arniel.

“I just like the fact it is spread out, and it isn’t just the other team trying to shut down our top line and we are not getting contributions from anyone else. I thought that was, not just goals, but scoring chances, as there were a lot more.”

Mark Scheifele has started the 2025-26 season at a career best rate. After a two-assist game against Minnesota, Scheifele now has 15 points through the first 10 games, the most at this point of a season in his career. There have only been seven instances of a player recording 15 points in the opening 10 games in franchise history, and Scheifele now joins Kyle Connor (2021 and 2024) as the only players to do so since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7 CT.