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The Jets limp into Ottawa to take on the Senators having lost eight straight games (0-5-3) which included ending 2025 with a 3-1 loss to the Wings in Detroit before kicking off the first day of 2026 with a disastrous and disheartening 6-5 loss to the Leafs in Toronto. And perhaps a sign of just how unusual this season is, despite having just two wins in the month of December, Winnipeg are nine back of a wild card spot. Of course that isn’t an insignificant number of points but I’m simply pointing out that the NHL hasn’t really separated the wheat from the chaff. Speaking of teams that are nine points up, the Senators have that big a gap between themselves and the team they host tonight and yet they are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. They are three back of the wild card with six teams between them and the 8th place Sabres. Ottawa is solid at home going 9-7-3 to date and have been good overall going 6-3-1 in their last ten games. One special team favours the home team with the Sens having the 8th best power play while the Jets have slid to 16th. The penalty kill goes to Winnipeg although they aren’t celebrating the fact that they are ranked 19th while Ottawa sits at 31st overall. Lineup questions: The Jets put Koepke and Miller in for Niederreiter and Schenn last game. It will be interesting if head coach Scott Arniel continues to send a message with his lineup. The only guaranteed change will be Connor Hellebuyck in for Eric Comrie. Skate news: As per Jets colour analyst Mitchell Clinton it looks like Nino Niederreiter draws back in after being a healthy scratch in Toronto and Gustav Nyquist comes out. Jets projected lines & D pairs: Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi Perfetti-Toews-Iafallo Barron-Lowry-Niederreiter Koepke-Namestnikov-Pearson Morrissey-Pionk Samberg-DeMelo Stanley-Miller Hellebuyck Senators projected lines & D pairs: Tkachuk-Stutzle-Zetterlund Perron-Cozens-Batherson Amadio-Pinto-Giroux Greig-Halliday-Cousins Sanderson-Zub Chabot-Jensen Kleven-Spence This was how they lined up last game. Players media availability: Coach media availability: ? Topics: 1) What's he looking for from Nino? 2) What can he do to generate more opportunities? (:42) 3) Thoughts on Colin Miller's game? (1:11) 4) Hellebuyck & Connor being named to American Olympic team (1:33) 5) How Kyle Connor handled the 4 Nations situation (2:03) 6) What will it take to snap the streak? (2:39) Odds: Ottawa enters this matchup holding the edge, backed by their recent form and the expectations surrounding them heading into the game. Winnipeg finds itself in the underdog role in a challenging contest, as the Senators appear to have the advantage on paper going into this one. For the latest Winnipeg Jets hockey odds, visit NHL betting site Betway. Up Next: Puck drop is at 6 PM CST. Be sure to head over to illegalcurve.com following the game for a recap of the action. You can join us on our YouTube channel for the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show around 8:40 PM CST as we discuss and analyze the results of the game.

Game 40: Winnipeg Jets vs Ottawa Senators pre-game report