A nine-game winless streak can eat away at an NHL team’s confidence level, but the Winnipeg Jets appear to have regained their grit heading into their next matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Jets have won five in a row following a 0-7-2 stretch from Oct. 15 to Nov. 1, most recently throttling the host Dallas Stars 8-3 on Thursday.
“The confidence now is back,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said. “When you’re not scoring and you’re losing games, nobody wants to make a play. Everybody wants to get rid of the puck. Right now, we’re doing the opposite. We’re being very confident. We’re holding on to pucks, creating space for the next guy, and then guys are shooting when they get the opportunity. That’s the feeling that you want to have all the time.”
Jets center Mark Scheifele had two goals and an assist against Dallas to give him 929 career points with Winnipeg, tying Dale Hawerchuk for the franchise record.
“Words can’t really describe how it feels. It’s pretty incredible,” Scheifele, who has spent his entire NHL career with Winnipeg since the 2011-12 season, said of matching the record. “Just the amazing player that he was, and what he meant to the city of Winnipeg and what he meant to me, it’s a pretty, pretty cool feeling.”
Dawson Mercer also scored two goals against the Stars, giving him five goals and an assist over the past four games.
“He finds places to get that stick open and get his shot off,” Arniel said of Mercer, who came to the Jets on Oct. 23 in the trade that sent goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to the New Jersey Devils. “(I) think the rust and newness of being on a new team is kind of gone, and he looks like he’s real comfortable.”
Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo sustained a lower-body injury against Dallas and is week to week. Winnipeg recalled defenseman Henry Thrun from its AHL affiliate in Manitoba on Friday and placed DeMelo on injured reserve.
The Blackhawks are coming off a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday against the visiting Buffalo Sabres, snapping a six-game winless skid (0-5-1).
“We definitely needed something positive,” Chicago coach Jeff Blashill said. “Confidence matters. Usually, to come out of slumps like that, you have to grind your way. It’s never easy. We’ve obviously faced a lot of adversity through this last little stretch. Our guys, one thing I give them tons of credit on, is they come to get better every day.”
Patrick Kane, who returned to the Chicago lineup on Thursday after missing three games with an upper-body injury, said he has a ton of confidence that Blashill is the right person to get the Blackhawks on a winning track.
Blashill is 34-52-15 since taking over in May 2025 for interim head coach Anders Sorensen, who lasted 56 games.
“He’s a great coach, great communicator,” Kane said of Blashill. “I know he’s a guy that can get the most out of his players. Right now, it’s not working, so it’s easy to look at the coach and blame the coach … but that’s not the way we’re looking at it. We have all the faith and confidence in management, ownership, ‘Blash,’ the other assistant coaches.”
–Field Level Media
