This is the Heritage Classic, outdoors at Princess Auto Stadium. An all-Canadian game on a football field, with Nick Suzuki out until November and Connor Hellebuyck suspended. The prediction, the team news and the Canadian prices follow.
How to watch
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Game | Montréal Canadiens at Winnipeg Jets |
| Date | Sunday 25 October 2026 |
| Puck drop | 7:00pm ET / 6:00pm CT |
| Venue | Princess Auto Stadium |
| Records | Montréal 4-3-2, Winnipeg 4-3-3 |
Regional listings can differ from the national one, and blackouts apply in parts of Canada. Our how to watch the NHL in Canada page sets out the options.
Jets vs Canadiens odds
No Canadian book had this one priced when the page went up. Hockey lines tend to land the night before or on the morning of the game, and the NHL odds page carries them as they arrive.
The Heritage Classic is outdoors, and that matters to the total
The game is at Princess Auto Stadium, the Blue Bombers’ ground, not Canada Life Centre. Outdoor ice is slower and less predictable than a rink, pucks bounce, and sightlines in daylight are harder for goaltenders. Scoring in the Heritage Classic series has tended to sit below a normal night’s rate for those reasons.
That sits on top of a head-to-head that was already tight. None of the last five Montréal and Winnipeg meetings produced more than six goals.
The Jets are 4-3-3. They have lost four of five, three of them by a single goal: 3-2 in Dallas, 2-1 in St Louis and 3-2 at home to Carolina.
Connor Hellebuyck is listed as suspended rather than injured, with a return date of 27 October. Stuart Skinner has taken seven starts at a .912, which is the one number on this page doing its job.
Josh Morrissey is out until around 1 November with a wrist injury and Nino Niederreiter is day to day. Eleven games in, Winnipeg has scored 25 and conceded 28.
How they compare
| 2025-26 | Montréal Canadiens | Winnipeg Jets |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 48-24-10 | 35-35-12 |
| Points | 106 | 82 |
| Goals for per game | 3.45 | 2.82 |
| Goals against per game | 3.12 | 3.17 |
| Power play | 23.1% | 18.5% |
| Penalty kill | 78.2% | 77.6% |
Montréal finished twenty-four points clear of Winnipeg last season and scored more than half a goal a game more. The Jets had the better penalty kill and far the worse power play, and neither has started this season well.
Montréal has lost Suzuki for a month
The Canadiens are 4-3-2 and have taken points in four of five, though three of those went past regulation. They lost 4-3 in a shootout to San Jose on Tuesday.
Nick Suzuki is out with an upper-body injury until 18 November. He had a goal and an assist against San Jose before it. Ivan Demidov is out until the end of the month and Mike Matheson is day to day.
The crease is unresolved. Jakub Dobeš has five starts at a .847 and Jacob Fowler four at a .900, with Sam Montembeault on injured reserve until 25 October. Montréal has conceded more than it has scored.
Montréal has won three of the last five, and none went over 6.5
| Date | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Feb 2026 | Montréal 5-1 | Winnipeg |
| 3 Dec 2025 | Montréal 3-2 (SO) | Winnipeg |
| 28 Jan 2025 | Winnipeg 4-1 | Montréal |
| 14 Dec 2024 | Winnipeg 4-2 | Montréal |
| 18 Dec 2023 | Montréal 3-2 (OT) | Montréal |
Montréal leads the all-time series 26 wins to 18 and has taken three of the last five. Two of those three were at Canada Life Centre.
Those five produced 6, 5, 5, 6 and 5 goals, an average of 5.4. Not one of the five cleared 6.5. That is the tightest head-to-head range on the weekend card.
Team news
| Club | Player | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Montréal | Nick Suzuki | Out, upper body, until 18 November |
| Montréal | Ivan Demidov | Out, lower body, on injured reserve to 31 October |
| Montréal | Sam Montembeault | Out, lower body, on injured reserve |
| Montréal | Mike Matheson | Day to day, lower body |
| Montréal | Florian Xhekaj | Out, lower body, on injured reserve |
| Winnipeg | Connor Hellebuyck | Out, listed as suspended, to 27 October |
| Winnipeg | Josh Morrissey | Out, wrist, to around 1 November |
| Winnipeg | Nino Niederreiter | Day to day, upper body |
| Winnipeg | Vladislav Namestnikov | Out, undisclosed, to 30 October |
Who starts in goal is an open question. Montréal Canadiens has split between Dobeš (5 starts, .847) and Fowler (4, .900), and Winnipeg Jets has split between Skinner (7 starts, .912) and Stevenson (3, .893). A save percentage is a season aggregate rather than a lineup, so treat either name as a possibility and not a plan.
Our NHL injury report tracks every other club.
Players to watch
Stuart Skinner, Winnipeg. Seven starts at a .912 in a job he did not expect to have this month.
Cole Caufield, Montréal. The scoring load with Suzuki out falls on him first.
Jacob Fowler, Montréal. A .900 across four starts against Dobeš’s .847. Which of them plays matters more than the records suggest.
Score prediction
Winnipeg Jets 3-2 Montréal Canadiens. Winnipeg is at home with the better goaltender available and Montréal is without its captain.
Jets vs Canadiens prediction
Winnipeg is the side we would take, narrowly. Skinner has been the best of the four netminders here, the Jets are at home, and Montréal is a month without Suzuki.
The case against is the run of results. Winnipeg has one win in five and all three defeats were by one goal, so this is a side losing close games rather than bad ones. Our lean: Winnipeg, and the under. None of the last five meetings cleared 6.5, both clubs are averaging under three goals a game, and this one is being played outdoors on slower ice.
Our NHL power rankings has all 32 in order, and the rest of Sunday’s games is on the NHL schedule.
Puck drop is 7:00pm ET / 6:00pm CT on Sunday 25 October 2026 at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, outdoors, for the Heritage Classic.
Yes. Winnipeg host Montréal outdoors at Princess Auto Stadium, the Blue Bombers’ stadium, rather than at Canada Life Centre. It is an all-Canadian edition of the series.
No. He is out with an upper-body injury until 18 November. Ivan Demidov is also out until the end of October and Mike Matheson is day to day.
No. He is listed as suspended rather than injured, with a return date of 27 October. Stuart Skinner has started seven games in his place at a .912.
Montréal leads the all-time series 26 wins to 18 and has won three of the last five meetings.
Winnipeg to win 3-2, and the under. None of the last five meetings produced more than six goals.
19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Picks are opinion, not advice, and odds change constantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.