Winnipeg Jets Vs. Their Playoff Wild Card Setbacks
By Santagata JJ
The Winnipeg Jets Have Some Setbacks That Stand Between Them and The Playoff Wild Card Position. How Can This Team Get Around This?
Winnipeg Jets, what is the concern with this team. Not discrediting anything this team has done this year but where they sit right now in the standings does not depict who this team really is. Having top producers in the league, how isn’t this team a playoff team right now?
Top Offensive Producers…
With Mark Scheifele ranking 6th among points for all NHL players provides something special to this lineup. Scheifele is having a career year with 67 points through 64 games, 28 goals and 39 assists. Among the best in the league right now. Aside from him, rookie Patrik Laine is having an amazing rookie season, making a serious case for the Calder. Laine has 32 goals and 59 points through 59 games this season.
On top of that, Captain Blake Wheeler is having another great year. Posting 36 assists with 20 goals this season. Another player in this mix is Nikolay Ehlers, similar numbers to Wheeler, with 21 goals and 32 assists. The offense is obviously there, with other players chipping like, Bryan Little and Mathieu Perrault. This offense is good, the top two lines are scary good.
More from Winnipeg Jets
- The Winnipeg Jets made a very interesting captain choice
- Looking back at the Blackhawks’ trades involving Andrew Ladd
- Los Angeles Kings: 3 insane trade packages for Connor Hellebuyck
- 3 centers the Boston Bruins should target to replace Bergeron, Krejci
- Waiting is not going to fix the Winnipeg Jets’ roster problems
Downfall…
The downfall to this team and it’s obvious. Goaltending. With Ondrej Paneled being sidelined for a majority of the season has not helped, leaving Connor Hellebuyck to take over the work load. Now Hellebuyck has not been awful, but not good enough for this Winnipeg team. A 2.74 GAA and .911 save percentage, it’s tough to win games when your goaltending is not consistent. Evidently it’s been the reason why Winnipeg is shy of the playoffs right now.
Inconsistent goaltending with a mediocre defense does not mix well. With really only Dustin Byfuglien and Jacob Trouba being really the only two solid defense on this team does not help even if your offense is as explosive as Winnipeg’s is.
Plus once you look past Winnipeg’s top two lines, their bottom six forwards are weak and don’t match up well with other bottom six forwards around the league.
Outlook for remainder of season…
To add a bit of salt to the wound, Winnipeg’s seven of their last fourteen games, are against divisional teams, and teams they are fighting with to get into the playoffs. Although their schedule may not be in their favor, this team can get hot at the right time and find themselves in the playoffs.
If all goes right and Winnipeg get’s some big wins out of Hellebuyck and their top guns continue to be great, Winnipeg can sneak into that last wildcard spot. Nothing is set in stone, just yet.