Jets Soar to Playoffs and Look to Avenge Last Year's Disappointment

On March 20, the first playoff clinch of the NHL season took place, as the Washington Capitals punched their ticket to this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. Five days later, another team had a chance to do the same, but in this case, it was actually their third chance. The Winnipeg Jets had a pair of earlier chances to get in, but the scenarios didn't come through. For Tuesday's action, the Jets had the same scenario that they had on Sunday: one point or a Blues loss gets it done.

The Blues were at home against the Montreal Canadiens in a battle between a pair of red hot teams who moved past the playoff line. As for the Jets, they faced the aforementioned Capitals in a battle between the teams with the two best records in the league. In addition, it was good news for Alex Ovechkin, as he has scored more goals against the Thrashers/Jets 2.0 team than any other team in the league, mainly due to the fact that the clubs were division rivals until 2013. The Jets led 2-1, but at 16:00 even, Washington tied it up, and it was ol' you-know-who himself, Ovechkin--moving just six goals away from the record. Even so, the clock was on Winnipeg's side, and when the final four minutes ticked away, the game was still tied at 2. The Jets got the point, and they are officially playoff bound, and in the OT, Nikolaj Ehlers sealed the deal.

It's amazing. This franchise is in their 26th year of existence, and their 25th year in play. It seems like yesterday that this team debuted as the Atlanta Thrashers, but it was actually 1999, the same year that the NHL instilled the OT loss rule that awards a point for getting into OT. The team's relocation came in 2011, and regarding this year, the Jets are in the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. In their first 17 seasons of play, the Thrashers/Jets only reached the playoffs twice. After failing to win a playoff game in their first two appearances, the Jets' third playoff appearance was a memorable one, reaching the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history. Since then, however, the Jets have not found the right stuff when it counted. Only one playoff series win since then (2021 North Division Semifinal), two occasions where the team who beat them in Round 1 went on to win the Stanley Cup (2019 and 2023), and of course, last year, where Connor Hellebuyck's best season turned into a nightmare playoff performance against the Avalanche.

Connor Hellebuyck gets a lot of talk, and he should. He's leading the league in wins, he's the reigning Vezina winner, and he's showing out again--clearly looking to avenge last year's playoffs. But let's talk about another Connor from Michigan: Kyle Connor. He has clearly established himself as the star player on that team, and that's a team with a very impressive group that includes Mark Schiefele, Gabriel Vilardi, Josh Morrissey, and Nikolaj Ehlers. Connor is currently leading the team in all offensive categories: 37 goals, 49 helpers, 86 points total. Scheifele's second on the team with 78 points (35 G/43 A), and while Vilardi's 61 points are third, he's listed as being out week-to-week, not a good sign.

So the Jets become the first Western Conference team to reach the playoffs this season, but we are also on two other watches with this clinch. The Jets are also the first Canadian team to clinch a playoff spot this season, and they are currently one of five Canadian teams above the playoff line, so we'll see if the country's Cup drought will end this year. Also, the Jets are looking for their first-ever Cup, and we've seen quite a few first time champions crowned in this league lately. In fact, each of the last two champions won the whole thing for the very first time.

The Jets locking in a spot is Step 1. Step 2 is winning the Central, and it looks like they have a strong chance to finish first in the Central, which would give the Jets their first division title since relocating, and only their second overall (the team won the old Southeast Division as the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006-07). However, home ice advantage has not been kind to them. While 2020 doesn't count due to no home ice at all, the Jets have still lost four playoff series where they've had home ice advantage, yet ironically, the franchise's only Game Seven win was on the road against a Predators team who won the Presidents' Trophy. The Jets started strong this season. They became the second team to clinch a playoff spot this season. They are in good shape to finish first in the Central. Will that lead to a long run this year? We shall see.