ANALYSIS: Jets face crucial matchup at season’s quarter pole

The first quarter of the season is now in the rearview mirror for the Winnipeg Jets.

It will really be something if the team is able to even come close to matching what it has achieved, over these next 20 games, starting with a crucial divisional showdown Monday in St. Paul.

The Jets are 17-4. And that’s after losing three of the previous five games.

When training camp broke and the pre-season came to a close, I don’t think even the Jets’ coaches and players thought they’d be performing at a better-than-.800 winning percentage when they reached the quarter pole of this 82-game marathon.

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But here they are, sitting atop the NHL standings — at least for now.

Maintaining penthouse residency is going to be a challenge when “Arnie’s Army” reaches the midway point of the schedule following a home game versus Detroit on Jan. 4.

Before this longest road trip of 2024-25 comes to a close Sunday afternoon in Dallas, the Jets will face a trio of teams within striking distance of their lofty position — the Stars included.

But the opponent in the closest proximity? The Minnesota Wild. And that places an added premium on winning Monday night — for both sides.

Winnipeg’s arch-rivals are just four points back, with a game in hand.

And while the Jets don’t know roughly how long they’ll be without top-four defenceman Dylan Samberg, who suffered a broken foot in Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Nashville, the Wild won’t have first-line forward Mats Zuccarello and are waiting for an injury update on their best player, Kirill Kaprizov.

Samberg’s misfortune creates an opportunity for others — Haydn Fleury, initially, I would think. And perhaps Ville Heinola eventually.

The Jets went through the first quarter virtually unscathed, health-wise, and certainly in the standings.

Because of Samberg’s extended absence, for however long, we know that scenario will not be repeated in terms of the former.

As for the latter, we’ll get a feel for how that’s going to unfold as early as Monday night.

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