GAME DAY PREVIEW: Winnipeg Jets at Ottawa Senators 01/03/2026

The NHL's last place team is in town, as the Winnipeg Jets (15-20-4) visit the Ottawa Senators (19-15-5) with a 7:00 p.m. puck drop from Canadian Tire Centre.

Senators Head Coach Travis Green shook up the forward lines at morning skate, aside from the reliable third line of Michael Amadio - Shane Pinto - Claude Giroux.

Leevi Merilainen gets the start in goal, while the defensive pairs are unchanged from Thursday's 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals.

SENATORS PROJECTED LINEUP

Ridly Greig - Tim Stützle - Fabian Zetterlund

Brady Tkachuk - Dylan Cozens - Drake Batherson

Michael Amadio - Shane Pinto - Claude Giroux

Nick Cousins - Stephen Halliday - David Perron

Jake Sanderson - Artem Zub

Thomas Chabot - Nick Jensen

Tyler Kleven - Jordan Spence

Leevi Merilainen

Hunter Shepard

Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Nikolas Matinpalo

Injured: Lars Eller (broken foot), Linus Ullmark (personal leave).

TAKEAWAYS

That top line of Greig, Stützle and Zetterlund is the one to watch. Stützle is riding an 11-game point streak (18 points, eight goals, 10 assists), while Zetterlund scored the game winner in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals. Greig was also all over that game, scoring the 2-2 tying goal and earning the elevation to the top line.

With Linus Ullmark away indefinitely, the net belongs to Merilainen. His .897 SV% was enough to get the job done against the Capitals, but the Senators sit in dead-last with a .873 team SV%.

The Senators' penalty kill also needs to improve, with their 76.1% ranked second-last in the NHL, behind only the Seattle Kraken.

The good news is the Senators sit three-points back of a wildcard spot as of Saturday morning. Unfortunately, they also sit only three-points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are last place in the Eastern Conference.

JETS PROJECTED LINEUP

Kyle Connor - Mark Scheifele - Gabriel Vilardi

Morgan Barron - Adam Lowry - Nino Niederreiter

Cole Perfetti - Jonathan Toews - Alex Iafallo

Cole Koepke - Vladislav Namestnikov - Tanner Pearson

Josh Morrissey - Dylan DeMelo

Dylan Samberg - Neal Pionk

Logan Stanley - Colin Miller

Connor Hellebuyck

Eric Comrie

Scratched: Luke Schenn, Haydn Fleury, Gustav Nyquist

Injured: None

OPPONENT REPORT

Frankly, it's been ugly for the Winnipeg Jets this season. They're certainly far from the Presidents Trophy winning juggernaut of last year.

The Jets enter this game last place in the NHL standings, with a 15-20-4 record. They're closing out a three-game road trip and coming off losses against Detroit and Toronto.

Winnipeg is riding an eight-game winless streak, which actually started on Dec. 12 in an overtime loss to Ottawa. Nonetheless, the Senators cannot take them lightly.

If there's one Jets player to watch tonight, it's Mark Scheifele. After not making the cut for Team Canada's Olympic Roster on New Year's Eve, the Jets number-one centre had a three-point night (two goals, one assist) in the Jets 6-5 loss to Toronto on Thursday.

After being snubbed from the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, Scheifele's 39 goals were second among Canadian skaters, behind only Braden Point's 42.