The Manitoba Moose (34-29-5-3) close out their regular season against the Iowa Wild (27-35-6-3) on Saturday. The Moose fell 3-2 to the Wild in a shootout on Friday night, giving them points in four consecutive games. They are 5-3-0-2 over their past 10 games. The win snapped a short two-game losing streak for Iowa. They are 5-4-0-1 in their past 10 games.

Coverage of today’s matchup gets going at 6:45 p.m. CT on CJOB.com, the Winnipeg Jets App and AHLTV on FloHockey. Puck drop at Casey’s Center is set for 6 p.m. CT.

One Big One Left

The Moose enter the final two days of the AHL’s regular season knowing part of their fate, with the rest of it guaranteed to be decided on Saturday. Already clinched, at worst, a fourth place finish in the Central Division, Manitoba could squeeze its way into third. The Moose would need a victory of any kind over the Iowa Wild, and require assistance from the Rockford IceHogs, who would need to defeat the Texas Stars in regulation. Both clubs would finish with 78 points in this scenario, with the Moose moving into third via tiebreaker. Any other result mean sthe Moose finish fourth, and host the Milwaukee Admirals in the First Round at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg for the best-of-three series.

2 Danny, 2 Furious

Danny Zhilkin notched his sixth multi-point game of the season on Friday night, recording a goal and an assist in Manitoba’s shootout loss to Iowa. The Moscow, Russia native has enjoyed a breakout season in 2025-26, scoring 24 points (12G, 12A) in 61 games, setting new career highs in games played, goals, assists, points, shorthanded goals, game winning goals, shots, and is on pace to establish a new high in shooting percentage. Zhilkin’s six multi-point games rank third on the Moose, trailing only David Gustafsson and Walker Duehr. He was a third round pick by the Winnipeg Jets in the 2022 NHL Draft, and made his NHL debut this season.

Start the Barty Party

Dawson Barteaux picked a good time to score his first goal of the season on Friday night, putting the Moose up 2-1 with 89 seconds left to play. The Foxwarren, Man. native has played 31 games with the Moose this season, bringing him to 117 games in antlers in his career. He has scored 29 points (6G, 23A) in that time. Barteaux skated in 20 games this season with the organization’s ECHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, scoring nine points (4G, 5A). He has registered 34 points (8G, 26A) in 174 games in six seasons across the AHL, playing his first three seasons as a member of the Texas Stars.

Re-Fire the Gus Bus

David Gustafsson returned to the Manitoba lineup for the first time since March 13 at Calgary on Friday night, centring a line between Mason Shaw and Walker Duehr. The Tingsryd, Sweden native has skated in 47 games with the Moose this season, recording 32 points (10G, 22A), leading the club with 0.68 points-per-game. The Winnipeg Jets’ second round pick in 2018 holds 91 points (34G, 57A) in 135 games in his AHL career, adding 20 more points (6G, 14A) in 149 games in the NHL as member of the Jets. 

Who’s Trending?

When Phil Di Giuseppe next steps on an AHL rink, it will be his 400th game in the league. Di Giuseppe made his debut back on April 6/14 as a member of the Charlotte Checkers. Since then, Di Giuseppe has played 701 professional games between the AHL and NHL. If he plays tonight, it’s the second time Di Giuseppe plays every game of an AHL season.