The Winnipeg Jets have been chasing the Anaheim Ducks & Seattle Kraken for the Western Conference’s final wildcard spot for quite a while now. Catching one of those franchises was the True Northers’ only hope to qualify for the playoffs, even though there was quite the gap they needed to overcome.
But that has recently changed over the past couple weeks of NHL action, as the Ducks have gone on a 5 game winning streak (8-2-0 in past 10) to move up the Western Conference standings. As a result, they are now challenging the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the Pacific. The Kraken took a bit longer to pull away from the Jets, but a 2 game winning streak (7-3-0 in past 10) has also allowed them to move out of the wildcard spots.
The league’s action last night has resulted in Winnipeg now turning their focus towards a pair of new clubs, in the Utah Mammoth and Edmonton Oilers. Neither squad has been playing consistently well over the recent action with .500 or near .500 records in the past 10 contests and that has resulted in them fighting for their playoff lives over the final stretch. With 66 points on the year, the Mammoth & Oilers have a 4 point lead on a pack of teams right behind them (SJ, NSH, & LA) and the Sharks are likely the most threatening since they have a couple games in hand on the current wildcard holders. Winnipeg (56 pts) leads the pack of the next group of playoff hopefuls, sitting a full 5 games back (10 pts), but do have games in hand on Edmonton (2) and Utah (1). Just a step behind is Calgary & Chicago with 55 points, and St. Louis lagging a bit behind (53 pts) but still well out of reach of Vancouver (43 pts).
And that brings us to tonight’s game between the Winnipeg Jets & Chicago Blackhawks at the Canada Life Centre, which will ultimately decide which franchise sits higher in the standings going into Wednesday’s action. The Hawks are coming in off a rare win, as they have limped to a 2-6-2 record over their past 10 matches. The True Northers have dropped back-to-back contests in overtime and probably have to win about 17 of their remaining 22 games if they have a hope at the playoffs. Getting more unlikely by the minute and with the trade deadline quickly approaching, management has to make decisions that will either hurt or help their chances at making a comeback. Does GM Kevin Cheveldayoff sell of the limited expendable assets he has to hopefully better the future outlook or does he stand pat with the hope that Winnipeg can get extremely hot over the final quarter of the regular season? The Jets have two games remaining before then, so the players can likely influence Chevy’s final choice by picking up 4 points against the Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Chicago (23-28-9) have already signaled they will be sellers by moving defenseman Connor Murphy to Edmonton and that likely won’t help the 23rd best defense in the NHL (192 GA). Considering the Hawks have the 26th most goals scored this season (161 GF), it isn’t surprising that they find themselves holding the 4th worst record in the league.
Winnipeg (23-26-10) has a middle of the pack defense with the 15th least goals against (184 GA), but their offense has only been slightly better than tonight’s opposition to sit in 25th (168 GF).
Here is how the two clubs’ year-to-date stats compare, via ESPN‘s team & goaltender comparison numbers:
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No roster changes expected from Winnipeg tonight, so the pairing of Haydn Fleury & Luke Schenn will have a chance for redemption from their 1.8% xG rating against San Jose. Betting Ville Heinola can’t wait to reach free agency because playing well doesn’t seem to keep him in the line up with the Jets.
The True Northers are still dealing with a slew of injuries, as Josh Morrissey, Nino Niederreiter, Neal Pionk, Vladislav Namestnikov, & Colin Miller are all still out. Recent news indicates that Morrissey is expected to return by the weekend, but also stated that El Nino will be out 4 to 6 weeks after undergoing surgery. Here are the line up projections for both clubs via PuckPedia:
WINNIPEG JETS LINE UP
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CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS LINE UP
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Here is hoping Winnipeg will be ready to skate tonight, because Chicago boasts a total of 12 players under the age of 25 in their starting line up…..compared to just 2 for the Jets.
Should be fun to watch a couple of Team Canada snubs tonight as Mark Scheifele & Connor Bedard face-off. Another game for Jonathan Toews against the franchise he won multiple Stanley Cups with.
The Blackhawks are missing one of their young talented defensemen, as Wyatt Kaiser isn’t expected to return to action until later in the week.
Happy the warmer weather has returned to Manitoba….hopefully that was the last cold snap of the year and spring can make an appearance as soon as possible.
Well, got to get back to work. Some recent changes in how we field employer inquiries has resulted in my needing to inform a new set of co-workers on how to explain the information on the yearly statistical reports we send them. You would think that would have been dealt with before rolling things out….but maybe that is just me? So won’t have a ton of extra time during the weekdays over the next week or two, but hopefully things will return to normal after that.
Go Winnipeg Jets!!!!!
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POST-GAME INFO
Scoring Summary: (courtesy of ESPN)
FINAL SCORE:
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Game Stats: (courtesy of MoneyPuck)
Expected Goals (all):
Expected Goals (5on5):
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BOJA’S Post-Game Thoughts:
Have no idea what my energy level will be at this time….so the best I can say is that the post game data will be added late tonight or by 9 am tomorrow morning. Work phone is ringing again….so time to wrap this up.
Have a good day!!!