A respected NHL GM forecasts a dramatic turnaround, believing the Jets' recent surge and returning health signal a playoff bound finish.

WINNIPEG -- Bringing a four-game point streak into the finale of their three-game road trip, the Detroit Red Wings will battle the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Saturday night. “Rounding it out with two more points, you’d get five of six on this trip,” Mason Appleton said. “That’s a great trip. It’ll be a good game.”

We’ve long known the NHL’s division-heavy playoff format needs tweaking — ideally going back to at least a 1-vs.-8 setup to better reward teams that have good regular seasons — but this year might just hammer home its issues more than ever before.

There are eight games on the docket in the NHL on Thursday night. I got shut out on my three picks last night, so let’s hope to bounce back tonight. I’m looking

There are nine games on the NHL schedule for Saturday, including four nationally televised in Canada as part of Hockey Night in Canada, one of which will also be on NHL Network in the United States. Here are five things to watch today, along with the complete game schedule.

If you study the Winnipeg Jets’ numbers this season, one thing jumps off the page immediately: there’s a massive gap between the fourth and fifth-highest scorers.

Our free Panthers vs. Jets predictions are calling for Connor Hellebuyck to see plenty of shots in Winnipeg on Thursday.

With St. Louis singing the defensive blues on the road, Winnipeg winger Alex Iafallo is positioned to stay hot. He’s been logging top-line minutes and picked up a point in four of his past five games while skating with stars Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor.

The Florida Panthers defeated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in a shootout on Thursday night at Canada Life Centre. Sam Bennet scored the lone goal for Florida, while Cole Perfetti found the back of the net for Winnipeg.