Rangers vs. Jets: Lineups, storylines for 1st meeting this season
The New York Rangers play their 65th games of the season On Thursday night, yet it’s their first against the Winnipeg Jets. After this tilt at Canada Life Centre, the Rangers will have faced each of the 31 other teams in the NHL this season.
While that’s a scheduling oddity, a strange coincidence is that both the Rangers and Jets are 4-1-2 since the Olympic break. In New York’s case, it’s a feel-good stretch, though not anything that will affect the playoff picture, since they remain last in the Eastern Conference.
But Winnipeg (26-27-10) put itself back into the Western Conference playoff race, with 19 games remaining on its schedule. The Jets are five points out of the second wild card in the West, though need to pass four teams ahead of them in the standings.
If they fail to make the playoffs, the Jets will become the fifth team to do so in NHL history one year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy for having the most points in the League during the regular season. The Rangers also accomplished this unwelcome “feat” last season, after securing the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023-24.
The Rangers (26-30-8) seek their first three-game win streak since Nov. 24-28. That would equal their most consecutive wins this season, accomplished three other times.
They come off an impressive 4-0 shutout over the Calgary Flames at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves for his 65th career shutout, though Igor Shesterkin is back between the pipes against the Jets.
The night before, the Rangers hammered the Philadelphia Flyers 6-2 on the road. Since the break, the Rangers outscored opponents 28-20. Six of those goals came on the power play, including four the past two games.
The Jets came out of the break with a six-game point streak (4-0-2), before they lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. This is the second of an important five-game homestand for the Jets, who are 15-12-5 at Canada Life Centre this season.
These two teams hold a rematch at MSG in 10 days, on March 22.
3 storylines when Rangers visit Jets
1. Captain close, but not ready yet
Injured Rangers captain J.T. Miller again took part in the morning skate Thursday, but won’t play against the Jets. He remains on IR with an upper-body injury.
So, how about Saturday in Minnesota against the Wild, coach?
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get it,” Mike Sullivan stated after the skate.
This will the fifth straight game Miller misses with his latest injury. The Rangers won three of the first four without their captain.
2. Moving on up
With Miller still out, Adam Edstrom gets a look in the top six, skating on a line with Vincent Trocheck and Will Cuylle against the Jets. The 6-foot-7 forward primarily played on the fourth line though 90 NHL games with the Rangers over the past few seasons, including 28 this season. So, this is a big opportunity for the 25-year-old.
Edstrom missed 33 games with a lower-body injury, but plays his fifth straight Thursday. Sullivan noted that Edstrom’s gotten more comfortable and his conditioning appears to be more up to speed now. He showed plenty of jump Monday in Philly and Tuesday against the Flames, when he logged 13:30 and 10:22 TOI respectively. he has two goals and two assists this season.
Jonny Brodzinski slots back to the fourth line, and remains on the second power-play unit against the Jets.
3. On the Mark
Jets center Mark Scheifele wasn’t named to Canada’s roster for the Milan-Cortina Olympics, and he’s taken it out on the rest of the League this season. Scheifele leads the Jets with 30 goals, 48 assists, and 78 points in 63 games, averaging 21:22 TOI. It’s his second straight 30-goal season — he had 39 in 2024-25 — and fifth of his 13-year NHL career.
The 32-year-old had eight points (three goals, five assists) in a three-game point streak, before he was held off the score sheet against the Ducks.
In 20 lifetime games against the Rangers, Scheifele has 15 goals and 20 points.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Alexis Lafreniere — Mika Zibanejad — Gabe Perreault
Adam Edstrom — Vincent Trocheck — Will Cuylle
Tye Kartye — Noah Laba — Conor Sheary
Jonny Brodzinski — Juuso Parssinen — Jaroslav Chmelar
Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox
Will Borgen — Braden Schneider
Matthew Robertson — Urho Vaakanainen
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Rangers vs. Jets: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. Winnipeg Jets
When: Thursday, March 12 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Canada Life Centre
How to watch: MSG
