The Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers meet again Friday at Amerant Bank Arena, just two days after the Panthers beat the Jets 5-1 in Winnipeg. The Jets vs Panthers rematch comes with Winnipeg (4-5-3) riding a five-game losing streak and Florida (7-4-2) winners of two of its last three. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET, with Florida already leading the season series 1-0.
Winnipeg Jets At Florida Panthers Game Information
- Date: Friday, Oct. 30
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Venue: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL
- TV/Streaming: ESPN+, Scripps Sports
- Season Series: Panthers lead 1-0
Can The Jets Snap A Five-Game Skid?
Winnipeg has lost five straight, including the Oct. 23 overtime loss to Dallas and Wednesday’s 5-1 defeat in Florida. The Jets sit at 11 points in the Central Division, tied with St. Louis for seventh among eight teams.
Kyle Connor leads the team with nine goals and 12 points, while Mark Scheifele paces the club with six assists. Winnipeg has scored 28 goals in 12 games while allowing 36, a minus-8 goal differential that reflects the recent stretch of results.
Who Starts In Net For Each Team?
Nico Daws is projected as the probable starting goalie for Winnipeg, while Akira Schmid is listed as Florida’s probable starter. Both designations are projections, not confirmed, until the lineups are finalized before puck drop. Florida’s goaltending situation has been affected by Jacob Markstrom’s placement on injured reserve with an upper body injury, with a return date listed as Nov. 4, pushing more starts toward Schmid in the interim.
How Banged Up Are These Rosters?
Florida is without four players on injured reserve: Brad Marchand (left leg, return date Nov. 21), Aleksander Barkov (left lower body, Nov. 27), Markstrom (upper body, Nov. 4) and Jonah Gadjovich (upper body surgery, Nov. 28). Winnipeg has its own list, with Vladislav Namestnikov (undisclosed, Nov. 3), Nick Bjugstad (left pectoral surgery, listed to return in March 2027), Josh Morrissey (right wrist, Nov. 3) and Garrett Brown (lower body, Oct. 30) all on injured reserve. Morrissey’s absence is notable for a Jets blue line already working through a difficult stretch, and Barkov’s continued absence leaves Florida without its top-line center down the middle.
Jets Outlook
Winnipeg has dropped five in a row, a stretch that includes four one-goal losses and the 5-1 setback in Florida on Wednesday. The Jets’ 70 points and 28 goals through 12 games trail Florida’s totals in both categories, and their power play has converted just six goals all season. Kyle Connor’s nine goals and Mark Scheifele’s playmaking remain the offensive engine, but Winnipeg’s .898 team save percentage has kept games closer than the scoreboard sometimes shows. The Jets sit 11th in the Central with 11 points and will look to Nico Daws, projected as the probable starter, to steady things in net against a Panthers team they just saw two days ago.
Panthers Outlook
Florida has won two of its last three, sandwiched around a 5-1 win over Winnipeg on Wednesday that followed consecutive losses to Ottawa and Pittsburgh by a combined 9-1 margin. The Panthers lead the season series 1-0 and have scored 39 goals to the Jets’ 28, with a 10.6% shooting percentage that ranks ahead of Winnipeg’s 8.6%. Florida’s power play has clicked for 14 goals, more than double Winnipeg’s total, though the Panthers’ .888 save percentage and 2.85 goals-against average show a defense still adjusting without Barkov and Markstrom. Akira Schmid is projected to start in net as Florida looks to complete a two-game sweep of the Jets inside a span of three days.
Key Matchup
Florida’s power play, which has produced 14 goals compared to Winnipeg’s six, faces a Jets penalty-kill unit that has allowed 36 goals overall this season. The Panthers’ shooting percentage advantage, 10.6% to 8.6%, suggests Florida has generated more quality looks per shot, a trend that showed up in Wednesday’s 5-1 result. For Winnipeg to avoid a sixth straight loss, its .898 team save percentage needs to hold up against a Florida lineup that out-shot the Jets 367-324 on the season even while missing Barkov and Marchand.
What To Watch
Winnipeg enters trying to halt a five-game slide that has dropped it to 11 points and into the bottom half of the Central Division. Florida, at 16 points and 7-4-2, is working to build consistency after alternating losing and winning stretches through its first 13 games. A Panthers win would complete a season-series sweep of the Jets so far, while a Winnipeg victory would snap its longest skid of the young season.
Fans can track Jets injury updates and recent results through Total Apex Sports coverage of the Jets’ goaltending situation and the team’s recent overtime loss to Dallas. The previous meeting between these two clubs is detailed in the Panthers vs Jets preview from earlier this week, while Winnipeg’s broader struggles are covered in the Jets vs Lightning preview.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
