So you’re still telling me there’s a chance Out-of-town scoreboard keeps Jets’ push for wild-card berth alive By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 5:49 PM CDT Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026

They lost the game — but not any ground in their playoff pursuits.

And so, one day after an ugly 4-1 setback to the Anaheim Ducks, the Winnipeg Jets were thankful for some help on the out-of-town scoreboard, which, at the very least, provided a bit of a silver lining.

“We have to look at it as a good thing, that the other teams didn’t get points. So we’re in a position where we’re still in this and we have to focus on ourselves,” said assistant coach Marty Johnston.

“We don’t want to be in a position where we’re looking at the scoreboard. We want to make sure we’re taking care of our own business.”

Misery loves company, and the Jets had plenty of it Tuesday night.

While Winnipeg was getting roasted by Anaheim, the Seattle Kraken and San Jose Sharks also lost in regulation, and the Los Angeles Kings fell in overtime. Only the Nashville Predators, who beat Seattle, had a positive result among teams vying for the final Western Conference wild-card spot.

That means Winnipeg’s deficit remains five points, with 19 games left in the regular season. The Kraken (19 games) and Kings (18 games) are tied with 67 points, while the Sharks (20 games) and Predators (66 points) trail closely behind.

No harm, no foul?

“With our effort, we’re not proud of our game (Tuesday) night, but at the same time, no one pulled away for us. It does feel like a missed opportunity in the sense of them all losing, we could have gained some ground,” said Jets forward Cole Perfetti.

“With our effort, we’re not proud of our game (Tuesday) night, but at the same time, no one pulled away for us.”

“But you’re not going to win every single game. Nights like last time where the other teams lose, that helps us out. No one pulled away but, at the end of the day, it’s on us. We just gotta take care of our business. We win our games that we’re supposed to, we’ll be in a good spot.”

The Jets, with 62 points, now face what feels like a “must-win” as they host the New York Rangers on Thursday in the fifth game of a season-long eight-game homestand. The boys from Broadway are last in the Eastern Conference with 60 points, although they have strung together two straight victories.

“Obviously, given the schedule, you don’t have a lot of time to dwell on things, which is nice. So on to the New York Rangers,” said Johnston, who believes his team can quickly return to recent form, which saw them go on a 4-0-2 run before facing Anaheim.

“It’s interesting. Obviously, everybody’s proud in terms of our group. And we know since the (Olympic) break we’ve collected points in every game but last night. So collectively we’ve been good,” he continued.

“I think we need to make sure that we play the style of game that we have since the break, where we played fast. Which means that we’re on our toes, we’re establishing pressure. And I think at times (against Anaheim) we were maybe waiting and staying on the right side of the play but staying too far back.”

The Rangers are the only team Winnipeg has yet to see this season, and now they’ll meet twice in 11 days with the return engagement coming on March 22 at Madison Square Garden.

“If you look at the recent games, their power play’s been quite good and, again, a group that’s proud and obviously has elite goaltending. So we’re going to have to make sure that we’re doing what we need to do,” said Johnston.

After taking on New York, the Jets will host NHL-leading Colorado on Saturday, then face the surging St. Louis Blues on Sunday afternoon. The homestand ends with a visit from the Predators on Tuesday.

“We’ve had a good stretch here of playing some good hockey, so we’ve just got to get back to that,” said forward Gustav Nyquist.

“Obviously, we’re not further from (a playoff spot), but we’re not closer either. And there’s a time limit on those games. We’ve got only so many games left. The (Rangers) are bottom of the league, but there’s no easy games. They’re still a good team. Every team in this league is very good and the margin’s so thin. So we have to be ready.”

The Rangers are tough to figure out, with a terrible 9-15-6 record on home ice but a solid 17-15-2 mark in enemy territory.

“Everyone is still showing up to work.”

“At this time of the year, with the standings, obviously certain teams are kind of out of it. But I would say it’s still the NHL, everyone is still showing up to work, putting their best effort, their best game forward,” said Perfetti.

“So there’s no quit in their locker room, they’re playing for their pride and everything. It’s going to be a hard game. They’ve been pretty decent on the road. Just got to stick to our game, play our game, like we have been the last few, and we’ll be alright.”

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