Perusing Jets potential playoff partners

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This article was published 17/03/2018 (2787 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the NHL hits the home stretch, expect a wild ride as teams jockey for position with only three weeks remaining on the 2017-18 regular-season slate.

The Winnipeg Jets likely won’t be involved in the shuffling of positions; in fact, projecting the Jets as Central Division runners-up is a cinch.

The Jets are boxed in, staring at the hindquarters of the division-leading Nashville Predators while galloping well ahead of the Minnesota Wild. It would take an epic collapse either by Nashville or Winnipeg to alter the top-two spots in the division.

The streaking Predators, 12-0-1 in their last 13, will stride to the division title. Guided by head coach Peter Laviolette, last year’s Stanley Cup finalists had amassed a Western Conference-best 46-14-10 record prior to Friday’s battle with the Colorado Avalanche in Denver — good for 102 points through 70 games — and needed nine points in their final dozen contests to set a new franchise record.

The Jets, coming off an impressive 6-2 drubbing of the visiting Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, are 42-19-10 with 94 points and have a firm foothold on the No. 2 position. Eight points back of the Predators, a late charge appears unlikely, yet they’re comfortably nine ahead of the challengers from the Twin Cities.

Shoulder checks now seem altogether unnecessary. Even with a tough string of injuries to key performers like centres Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry and Matt Hendricks, defencemen Jacob Trouba and Toby Enstrom and back-up goalies Steve Mason and Michael Hutchinson, Winnipeg has been immune to a major tumble.

With Trouba now back in the lineup, Scheifele and Lowry due to return any day, Connor Hellebuyck’s sensational goaltending, explosive offence led by the youngsters — 41-goal scorer Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, who has a career-high 27 tallies, and rookie Kyle Connor, who netted his 24th and 25th against Chicago — the leadership and play-making of Blake Wheeler and Paul Stastny, the continued dependability of blue-liners Josh Morrissey and Tyler Myers, and a more responsible, engaged Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg should have no difficulty keeping the Wild, Avs or Stars at bay.

Indeed, the battles for third place and two wild-card spots rage on. Prior to Friday’s action, the Avs trailed the Wild by a single point. Both squads had played 70 games, one more than Dallas, who occupy fifth spot in the Central, just a point behind Colorado.

In the first round of the playoffs, the division winners in each conference match up against a wild-card squad. If the season had ended Thursday night, the Predators would have opened at home against Dallas, while the Vegas Golden Knights would have hosted the Avs.

Second- and third-place squads in each division square off, and the Jets will begin a best-of-seven series at Bell MTS Place. But with 22 days left and just a few points separating Minnesota, Colorado and Dallas, each of their remaining games will impact the race.

Let’s take a look at the trio of clubs vying for third place in the Central and how the Jets match up. Listed information was generated prior to Friday’s slate of NHL games.

 

Minnesota Wild (39-24-7, 85 points)

 

Games to play: 12 (5 home, 7 away)

Games vs. divisional rivals: 4 (Nashville 2, Dallas 2)

Other tough tests: L.A. 2, Vegas, San Jose, Anaheim, Boston

The Wild played Friday in Vegas. They have a pair of pivotal contests left with Dallas, but play neither Colorado nor Winnipeg the rest of the way.

Minnesota is 1-3-0 against Winnipeg this season, its only victory — a 4-1 win at Xcel Energy Center — coming in mid-January. Overall, Winnipeg has a record of 14-10-2, not much of an edge, since relocating from Atlanta in time for the 2011-12 NHL campaign.

No squad is closer to Winnipeg geographically, but the sides share a rather acrimonious relationship. Jets fans regularly make the 750-kilometre trip south down I-94 to St. Paul, Minn., when the clubs collide, while seeing visiting fans — wearing their Niederreiter and Parise jerseys — on the concourse at Bell MTS Place is routine when the Wild come north.

Up front, veteran centre Eric Staal is having a remarkable season. At 33, the product of Thunder Bay is rejuvenated in his second season in a Wild jersey, scoring 37 goals — his most since a 40-goal campaign nine years ago in Carolina. He’s also chipped in 31 assists.

Wingers Mikael Granlund (19G, 38A) and Jason Zucker (28G, 26A) are also having solid campaigns, while blue-liner Ryan Suter is tied for sixth among all NHL defenceman with 41 assists. In goal, it hasn’t been the best of seasons for Devan Dubnyk, who owns a 2.65 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. 

Head coach Bruce Boudreau’s team still employs a sound, effective defensive scheme. The Wild are 12th in the NHL in goals-against (203) and surrender the seventh-fewest shots per game (30.5). But shutting down high-powered Winnipeg (234 goals-for; four players with at least 20 goals; eight with at least 12) might be a tall order.

 

Colorado Avalanche (38-24-8, 84 points)

 

Games to play: 12 (7 home, 5 away)

Games vs. divisional rivals: 4 (Chicago 2, Nashville, St. Louis) 

Other tough tests: L.A. 2, Vegas 2, San Jose, Anaheim, Philadelphia

The Avs battled Friday in Denver with the visiting Preds. The trouble for head coach Jared Bednar and his squad is they have no head-to-heads with either the Wild or Stars.

Colorado is 2-2-0 against Winnipeg, with both victories coming in three-on-three overtime. The last time the clubs met, the Jets manhandled the visiting Avs on Feb. 16 to the tune of 6-1.

After a dreadful 2016-17 season that produced only 22 victories, the fewest league wide, the Avalanche have rebounded in a big way and have a legitimate shot at the post-season. In fact, they might even double their point total (48) from a year ago.

Nathan MacKinnon, still just 22, has been an absolute beast, ripping 35 goals and setting up 50 others, despite missing eight games with an injury. He’s only six points behind overall points front-runner Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay, is a Hart Trophy candidate and is hugely responsible for Colorado still being in the conversation.

Finnish-born forward Mikko Rantanen is having a super sophomore season, netting 25 goals and chipping in 49 assists, while Tyson Barrie (10G, 38A) is having a career year on the back end. 

Goalie Jonathan Bernier, who just returned from a concussion, is now hurt again, meaning Semyon Varlamov will continue carrying the load. Their numbers have been similarly inconsistent this season, both hovering around the .915 mark.

Historically, the Jets have dominated the Avalanche, going 14-5-7 since the start of the ’11-12 season

 

Dallas Stars (38-26-7, 83 points)

 

Games to play: 11 (4 home, 7 away)

Games vs. divisional rivals: 3 (Minnesota 2, Winnipeg) 

Other tough tests: L.A., Anaheim, San Jose, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington 

Dallas played the Senators in the Canadian capital Friday. The Stars could help themselves greatly by sweeping a home-and-home series with the Wild at the end of March.

Since the 2011-12 campaign, Winnipeg is 14-8-1 against Dallas, but the Stars failed to shine in three previous meetings with the Jets this season, losing once at Bell MTS Place and twice at American Airlines Center. Most recently, Laine scored a pair of goals to pace Winnipeg to a 5-2 triumph Feb. 24 in Dallas.

Coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t have a huge arsenal of weapons at his disposal, but he does have long-time Jets killer Tyler Seguin, who has lit the lamp 37 times this season. The skilled centre has feasted on Winnipeg, scoring 18 goals and providing 15 assists in 27 games. Dallas also has the star power of Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov up front, while John Klingberg leads all NHL blue-liners with 58 points (7G, 51A).

Dallas is about to get goalie Ben Bishop back from injury. The former Vezina Trophy finalist is 26-17-4 with a 2.49 GAA and .917 S%

The Stars rely on superb puck possession and create a ton of scoring chances. Should they position themselves to face the Jets, Dallas could make this first-round showdown very intriguing.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell