Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators set for make-or-break game

The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs are only a month away, which makes every game between now and then that much more important. For the Winnipeg Jets and their Central Division rival, the Nashville Predators, a head-to-head tilt on Saturday is make-or-break.

At one point, not that long ago, the Jets seemed destined to be a playoff participant in 2023, as they were playing well and near the top of the division for the first half of the season.

Now, Winnipeg is in a free fall. The Jets are clinging to a playoff spot entering play on Saturday, but just barely, and their opponent this weekend is one that is hot on their tails.

Saturday’s Jets/Predators game has major playoff implications.

Winnipeg’s record of 38-28-3 (79 points) is good for the second wild card position in the Western Conference. At fourth place in the Central, they trail the third-place Colorado Avalanche by five points despite having played two extra games.

With that, the Jets’ odds of gaining ground on teams are not good. Instead, they’ll have to fend off teams like the Predators and Calgary Flames.

The Preds come into Saturday’s contest with a 34-25-7 record (75 points). A win against Winnipeg would pull Nashville within two points of that final playoff spot in the West, and what really helps the Predators is that they’ve got three games in hand.

In theory, a Jets victory wouldn’t be a killer for the Predators, as winning all three games in hand would still bring them even. However, that’s a tall task, especially with the Flames still in the mix as well. A Preds win, though, changes the landscape of this wild card race drastically.

In spite of being a seller at the trade deadline, Nashville would have the inside track to a playoff berth with a win on Saturday. Conversely, a loss for Winnipeg would confirm notions that this is no longer a playoff-caliber team, as it is 4-9-2 in the last month.

The Jets and Predators will meet one more time this season, on April 8, but if Saturday’s game goes Nashville’s way, and Winnipeg can’t right the ship in the coming weeks, that game may not have any implications on the postseason.