The door is still open for the Winnipeg Jets …
It’s been a rough year for the Jets.
Despite adding Patrik Laine to an already talented roster, the Jets have just 43 points through 43 games. As a result, the only Western Conference teams they’re ahead of in points percentage are Arizona and Colorado. That’s not exactly a high bar to clear.
In years past the Jets’ season would be all but over in this kind of situation. This year is different, though, as the Western Conference has not been close to as good as expected due to down years from Dallas, Los Angeles and Nashville (so far) to name but a few.
The Jets sit just one point back of the Kings and three points back of the Flames for the top two wild card spots. Based on recent performance, it’s certainly not out of the question for the Jets to catch one or both of those teams.
Over the last 10 games, the Jets have controlled 53.28% of the shot attempts (5th), and 56.2% of the scoring chances (2nd) during 5-on-5 play. They’ve been excellent and that should continue as long as they stay healthy.
If the goaltending improves — neither Connor Hellebuyck or Michael Hutchinson have been very good — and the Jets play a little more disciplined there is no reason they can’t (at least) seriously contend for a playoff spot.
The Jets haven’t done themselves any favors thus far, but the door is still open for them to sneak into the playoffs this season. They just have to walk through it.
The door is closing for the New Jersey Devils …
Every year there are a couple teams not expected to accomplish much that surprise the hockey world and make the playoffs.
Early in the season, it seemed like the New Jersey Devils would be one of those teams. They started very strongly going 9-3-3 in their first 15 games and, with Taylor Hall and Cory Schneider leading the way, seemed poised to compete for a playoff spot at the very least.
Fast forward a couple months and that is far from the case.
The Devils have won just seven times in their last 27 games (26%) and have looked lifeless in the process. It’s not as if the Devils have been playing decent hockey and simply dealt with some bad luck, either. They’ve legitimately been terrible.
In that span, the Devils are at or near the bottom of the league in pretty much every category. At 5v5 they have controlled 45.5% of the shot attempts (t-29th), 44.9% of the scoring chances (29th) and 36.8% of the goals (30th).
For the visual learners, here is how those numbers stack up against Colorado and Arizona since the wheels fell off 27 games ago.
The Devils have been dominated as badly as anyone on a nightly basis and, besides the last few games, Cory Schneider hasn’t been able to come close to bailing them out.
The Avs and Coyotes have a good cushion on the Devils for 29th and 30th, but if the Devils continue playing this way they could very well make things interesting.
Written by Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell)