Nine days after the outdoor game in Manitoba, the rematch moves indoors. Canadiens vs Jets goes tonight at 7 p.m. at the Bell Centre (TSN2, RDS), the second and final meeting of the season. A lot has changed for Winnipeg since then, starting with the biggest trade of the young season. Note: this preview was written ahead of time, so the stats below are as of Oct. 28 and don’t include games played since.
Canadiens vs Jets: the Heritage Classic, part two
Montreal won the first meeting 2-1 at Princess Auto Stadium on Oct. 25. Jacob Fowler made 33 saves and became the youngest goalie in NHL history to start an outdoor game, per the Canadiens’ recap, and Kaiden Guhle scored the winner. The Jets’ own recap noted that newcomer Dawson Mercer logged 15:22 of ice time with two shots on goal. Relive the weekend in our Heritage Classic recap.
Winnipeg after Hellebuyck
On Oct. 23, the Jets made a franchise-altering move, trading goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey for forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, 2026 12th overall pick Alexander Command and two draft picks. Mercer, 24, brings 420 NHL games and 213 points. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said the club was “very comfortable” with the return.
The other pieces are a mix of now and later. Nico Daws, 25, had played four games for the Devils this season, going 2-2-0 with a .874 save percentage. Command, 18, is playing for Örebro HK in Sweden, where he has 12 points in six junior games, and won gold with Sweden at the 2026 World Under-18s. Bjugstad adds veteran depth down the middle.
It hasn’t been an easy stretch. As of Oct. 28, Winnipeg was 4-5-3 with 11 points, seventh in the Central, and the Florida Panthers had just extended the Jets’ winless streak to six on Oct. 27.
Jets to watch
- Kyle Connor: nine goals, by far the team lead.
- Cole Perfetti: six goals.
- Mark Scheifele: eight points, mostly as a setup man.
- Stuart Skinner: the new No. 1 in goal at 3-2-3 with a 2.60 GAA and .911 save percentage. Clay Stevenson is 1-3-0.
The Habs’ form
Montreal was 7-3-2 with 16 points as of Oct. 28, second in the Atlantic and riding a three-game win streak. Fowler was 6-1-0 with a 1.54 GAA and .942 save percentage, Cole Caufield led the team with six goals and Lane Hutson had 10 points. Captain Nick Suzuki remained out with an upper-body injury; the team’s Oct. 22 estimate of two to four weeks means he could return any time between this week and mid-November, so watch the morning skate news.
By the numbers (as of Oct. 28)
- Goals for: Montreal 38, Winnipeg 28
- Goals against: Montreal 36, Winnipeg 36
- Last 10 games: Montreal 6-3-1, Winnipeg 3-5-2
- Points: Montreal 16 in 12 games, Winnipeg 11 in 12 games
The gap in goal scoring is the story. Winnipeg had averaged well under three goals a game, which puts pressure on Skinner to be nearly perfect, while Montreal’s depth scoring, with Zachary Bolduc and Josh Anderson chipping in, has kept the Habs rolling without their captain.
Three keys for tonight
- Shut down Connor. Winnipeg’s offence runs through its top sniper. Limit his looks and the Jets struggle to score.
- Test the new goalie early. Skinner has been solid, but a team on a skid can lose confidence fast. Get pucks and bodies to the net.
- Don’t sit back. The first meeting was a 2-1 grind. At home, with the crowd behind them, the Habs can play faster.
What’s next
The homestand continues Thursday against the Utah Mammoth, one of the stronger teams in the West so far, as they swing through the East on a long road trip, then the Habs visit Toronto on Saturday night, the same day the Alouettes host the Eastern Final. The Bell Centre calendar has tickets for the remaining home dates, including the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 10.
Watching from a bar? Our list of 12 bars and restaurants to watch the Canadiens has you covered. For a reminder of how far this team has come since mid-October, reread our Habs Watch at 3-3-1, and follow the rest of the week in our sports section. Go Habs Go!
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Photo: Guilhem Vellut from Annecy, France / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Sources: NHL.com (Canadiens), NHL.com (Jets recap), NHL.com (Jets trade), NHL.com (Jets), NHL.com (Suzuki), evenko
