Jets could be surprise darlings of playoffs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/04/2015 (3835 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Five takes before the Winnipeg Jets wrap up their preparations on home soil Tuesday morning and then fly the friendly skies south to Anaheim…

1. It’s fascinating – almost shocking – how the Jets have become such a trendy pick as the Stanley Cup playoffs are about to begin. They’re big, fast and skilled and riding a hot goaltender, but they are also matched up against the top seed in the Western Conference.

That hasn’t stopped a lot of media types from making them their upset special against the Ducks. ICYMI, on Monday night TSN’s Hockey panel discussed which Canadian team has the chance to go the deepest into the playoffs.

Aaron Ward picked Montreal but both Bob McKenzie – as respected a hockey journalist as there is in the biz – and Jeff O’Neill picked the Jets. In fact, O’Neill went so far as to predict the Jets to WIN THE STANLEY CUP.

No, really.

The whole segment is here.

TSN fantasy columnist Scott Cullen, meanwhile, picked the Jets to win in 7. Here’s Cullen’s take on why he picked the Jets:

Why? For one thing, because sticking with chalk (favourites) all the way through is no fun, so in looking for upsets that might be possible, the Jets look like they could be a tough out. Their defence is a deep group with lots of size and skill when Dustin Byfuglien is active and they bolstered their forward group with trades, so they have more options up front. The Ducks (54.4%) and Jets (54.1%) also have the best score-adjusted possession stats since the trade deadline of any teams in the playoffs, so something will have to give in that respect. Oh, and we’re all cool with Ondrej Pavelec being good now, right?

Read his full prediction piece here.

2. A few surprises popped up as yours truly put together a scouting report on the Ducks for today’s paper.

The Ducks special teams are really mediocre – 15th-ranked penalty kill and just the 28th-best power-play – and you have to scan way down the rankings of goals against to find the Ducks at 2.65, 19th overall. The Jets, FYI, are 10th. If it’s true that great goaltending and dominant special teams are critical to a long run, then there is some compelling evidence to stay clear of Ducks players in your playoff pool.

Nobody asked me but, I like the Rangers and the Blues to meet in the final — and the Broadway Blueshirts to win it all:

Here are the latest Stanley Cup odds, courtesy Bodog.ca:

Odds to win the 2015 Stanley Cup

• New York Rangers 11/2
• Chicago Blackhawks 8/1
• St. Louis Blues 8/1
• Anaheim Ducks 9/1
• Minnesota Wild 9/1
• Montreal Canadiens 9/1
• Tampa Bay Lightning 10/1
• Nashville Predators 12/1
• Pittsburgh Penguins 16/1
• Vancouver Canucks 16/1
• Detroit Red Wings 18/1
• New York Islanders 18/1
• Ottawa Senators 18/1
• Washington Capitals 18/1
• Calgary Flames 20/1
• Winnipeg Jets 25/1

3. I was out this morning taking my boys to school and, out here in Charleswood at least, they have already started cleaning the streets which always helps wash away the winter blues. Meanwhile, in Anaheim they held a Ducks beach rally on Monday featuring ‘Southern California’s largest rally towel.’

An interesting comment from former Jet Eddie Olczyk in today’s Orange County Register on the Winnipeg-Anaheim series:

“When you play a team like Winnipeg, it’s going to feel like you played nine games. It’s no different than L.A. or St. Louis. It’s going to be a physical battle, and it’s going to take a toll somewhere down the road unless you get it done in four or five games.”

For those of you looking for a take on the series from the Southern Cal perspective, check this out.

 4. For those of you who are fascinated by the lifestyles of the rich and famous, check out Ryan Getzlaf’s new $6.1 million digs in Corona del mar (he got a deal on it, apparently, as the original asking price was $6.25 million.

5. And, finally, my colleagues Gary Lawless, Tim Campbell and our new multi-media specialist Jeff Hamilton will all be in Anaheim for Games 1 and 2 of the Jets-Ducks series. Please follow all of their fine work on winnipegfreepress.com. I’ll be back on the beat when the team returns, but will continue with our morning Jets Takeaways through their playoff run.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait