The Great Outdoors

There is a certain nostalgia that comes with tying up the skates in subzero temperatures, trying to keep fingers and toes warm, and feeling the cold air on one's face when skating up and down the ice on an outdoor rink. While the thermometer hasn't hit subzero marks yet on this day, it is a balmy 5°C as there's a chill in the air for the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic. Fans from across North America descended upon Winnipeg where Princess Auto Stadium was the venue for the latest chapter in the NHL's outdoor game series, and everything leading up to the game felt like the game dame would be a classic. With Winnipeg and Montreal well-represented by the number of jerseys in the stands, it seems like this year's Heritage Classic was exactly what the NHL hoped it would be. All the league needed was a great game.

The pregame festivities saw fans flood the concourse when the gates opened at 4pm as thousands of hockey fans poured into Princess Auto Stadium. In the northwest corner, the Montreal Canadiens played sewerball to the delight of dozens of Canadiens fans who gather to watch. They even belted a rendition of "Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé!" to make their favorite team feel a little more at home in Winnipeg, so the Montreal faithful was representing le bleu-blanc-et-rouge well.

At one point, the TimBits hockey players got a massive surprise when Youppi! grabbed a stick and joined them on the "pond" rink that the NHL had setup. Mick E. Moose joined them as well, and the two mascots were making passes to and high-fiving all the tykes in skates as they played. Photos were taken with the mascots, and the kids all wore smiles as the two furry icons made things a little more fun.

I will say that the in-house entertainment was, at times, questionable in the choices made. There was a contest run that turned out to be an advertisement for a smoking cessation product, and there were highlights of fans in the crowd "reverse eating" their food. I honestly cringed at the ad disguised as a contest, but watching people un-eat their food was a sight I never want to see again. Watching it was weird, it looked disgusting, and it was totally unnecessary.

At 5:30pm on the dot, the teams made their way out for warm-ups, and every player except the goalies wore Heritage Classic toques. I know the NHL's mandate is to have players in helmets during warm-ups for liability reasons, but seeing the two teams clad in toques is an awesome sight. Quick checks on numbers showed that newly-acquired Nico Daws wasn't in uniform for warm-ups, but Dawson Mercer was on the ice and wearing #19. It looks like we're going to see one of the newest Jets on the ice tonight! How about that debut?

FIRST PERIOD

Jacob Fowler took the ice in the Montreal crease while Stuart Skinner was guarding the Jets net to start the game after the bilingual singing of "O Canada" done by Soulbear. Adam Lowry's line featuring the aforementioned Mercer was introduced as the starting lineup for the Jets, and the crowd gave Mercer a solid ovation as a welcome to the city. The ceremonial face-off saw Blake Wheeler, Andrew Ladd, and Dustin Byfuglien welcomed back by the fans to boisterous cheers!

The first ten minutes were largely uneventful despite the Jets missing a couple of scoring chances while Zach Bolduc rung one of the crossbar. Montreal seemed to have problems connecting passes as they were guilty of icing the puck a number of times, but the Jets could not capitalize on the offensive zone face-offs. A goalmouth scramble at 14:13 saw the fans loudly exclaim "STUUUUU!" as Skinner kept the puck out of the Winnipeg net as the chess match wore on.

With 3:46 remaining, Alexandre Carrier ran interference on Viggo Björck at the Montreal blueline, and we'd get our first power-play of the game! Alex Newhook nearly put Montreal up with a shorthanded breakway, but his shot rattled the boards behind Skinner as he missed the net. Winnipeg would be unsuccessful on their first advantage of the night, but time would end with the horn and the game tied 0-0.

I fully admit that I didn't watch a second of the intermission, so feel free to talk amongst yourselves about this. I have no comment.

SECOND PERIOD

Cole Caufield started the period off with a breakaway, but he sailed his shot over the net into the glass behind Skinner. It took a while, but we'd finally get the opening goal at the 7:19 mark when the two Montreal defenders worked down low with Noah Dobson feeding a cross-crease pass from the half-boards to a pinching Lane Hutson on the backdoor for a tap-in and the Canadiens grabbed the 1-0 lead!

Dawson Mercer got his first good look on a partial 2-on-1 with Isak Rosén nine-and-a-half minutes in, but his shot would be blocked away by Fowler. Through nearly thirty minutes of hockey, though, Dawson Mercer has been solid with heads-up defensive play, a knack from jumping into offensive rushes, and smart passes to teammates. I was already a fan, but Mercer's lunchbox style of play should make Jets fans appreciate him more. He's going to be good for this club.

Montreal would extend their lead at the 11:04 mark when Kaiden Guhle's shot found space past Skinner and a mass of humanity out in front of the Jets' crease. Honestly, I'm not surprised that Skinner didn't see that puck because there were four bodies standing directly in front of him, and that puck seemed to find whatever tiny seam there was to get past the bodies and hit the back of the net. Montreal took a 2-0 lead on their second goal from a defenceman.

Alex Newhook would be sent off at 12:53 after his stick came up and caught Isak Rosen in the face area, and the Jets went to work on their second power-play. Aside from Skinner making a stop on Josh Anderson, the Jets wouldn't get anything dangerous in the way of scoring, and another advantage took two minutes off the clock. And despite the Jets getting shots in the last five minutes, nothing would get past Fowler as that 2-0 score would carry into the second break.

The chairs in the pressbox that we were seated on could be considered a form of torture, so I needed to stretch my legs during the second intermission. Again, talk amongst yourselves.

THIRD PERIOD

Another uninspired start to the period from both sides would lead to a mistake. At 5:08, Alex Newhook tripped up Adam Lowry to send Winnipeg to its third power-play, so could the Jets capitalize on this opportunity? The Jets got their best scoring chance in two periods when Cole Perfetti set up Mark Scheifele for a one-timer from the left face-off dot, but Fowler's blocker kept that Jets off the board again. The power-play was unable to score for a third time, and the clock began to become part of the problem with Jets down two goals.

With very little action at both ends for a length of time, Mark Scheifele finally found some room in the offensive zone with 6:10 to play where he was able to get a wrist shot off from the hashmarks. The only problem? Fowler's glove picked it out of the air to keep the Jets off the board. With six minutes left, it appeared the Jets may remain scoreless at Princess Auto Stadium after falling to Edmonton 3-0 in 2016. Would Montreal keep the goalless streak alive?

That answer was a resounding NO as Isak Rosén would finally solve Fowler off a great setup from Vilardi in the high slot. Rosén, standing by the left post, one-timed the feed into the yawning cage, and thr Jets were on the board off Rosén's first goal of the season with 4:36 to play. Montreal held a 2-1 lead and this game was far from over.

Josh Anderson would add a little intrigue to the game as he was called for tripping with 92 seconds remaining, and the Jets' lifeless power-play needed to find some fire. Skinner would begin in the net, but he would be called to the bench quickly for the 6-on-4 attack. And without a shot in the final minue-and-a-half, the Jets would fall by a 2-1 score to the Montreal Canadiens as the final score wraps up the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic from Winnipeg!

FINAL THOUGHTS

For as much fun as the other events were this weekend, this game felt a lot like the 2016 Heritage Classic game where the play on the ice was entirely forgettable. I understand that there has to be a winner and loser, but the entertainment value compared to ticket prices aren't even in the same ballpark or football stadium. Had I paid for tickets to this event, I would have been disappointed with my investment. Simply put, this was not an enteraining game.

If you're a Montreal Canadiens fans, you're happy that your team picked up two points. The penalty killing efforts are definitely something to put in one's back pocket as well as they stymied the Winnipeg offence, and Jacob Fowler looks every bit as confident as I've ever seen him. While some worried when Jakub Dobes struggled, it seems very clear that the Canadiens have a 1A and 1B situation in goal as opposed to a starter-backup tandem. That bodes well.

If you're a Winnipeg Jets fan, you can take solace in the facts that Stuart Skinner's play looks solid, the return of Elias Salomonsson showed he was ready to step back into a top-six role, and Dawson Mercer will be a nice addition to the Jets' depth. Tbe power-play was dreadful, however, and there should be some concern over how the Jets attack the offensive zone. A sixth loss in seven games doesn't stop the questions about how this team is built from being asked.

From a presentation perspective, though, the NHL achieved what it set out to do: selling out the Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium, selling out the Alumni Game at Canada Life Centre, stoking the passion for hockey in two major fanbases that are important in the NHL's makeup, and sending fans home with memories made. Yes, tickets to make those memories cost an extraordinary amount of money, but 32,343 fans showed up, cheered, and had a good time.

That's mission accomplished for the NHL by their business standards.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!