For the Winnipeg Jets, April Showers Will Bring a Long Offseason

The Winnipeg Jets have been playing mediocre hockey for a long stretch now, and it’s pretty unfair to assume they’ll continue to play anything but.

Since the calendar turned to 2019, the Winnipeg Jets have earned a 55% point percentage, the percentage of total points they could have earned in the standings.

This mark falls a shade under league average, actually, and they sit just a bit over 60% on the season. Their Corsi% has sat in the 46% range, which is pretty bad, honestly.

In the 2018 section of this season, they had a 50.5% Corsi, which is fine, and a 67% point percentage, which is rock solid. In the first half, I was hoping the Jets would find more consistency in the second half.

They kinda did, but they’re consistently worse. Can the return of Big Buff make that much of a difference? Dustin Byfuglien has returned and last night against Chicago he dropped the gloves with Drake Cagguila just a few seconds before the end of regulation.

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His grit was missed, but can he save the team? I’d wager they’d look a lot better with Josh Morrissey, too, but still. The team doesn’t look fearsome. They don’t look like the Winnipeg Jets of last year, and they certainly are high on the list of teams I’d want to face in the playoffs.

And yes, their victory over Chicago still has them sitting in first place in the Central, but they’re just two points ahead with three games to play. Oh, and the St. Louis Blues and the Nashville Predators are the teams behind them, now.

All three have just three games left. The Jets games are all at on the road, and they’ll face Minnesota, Colorado and Arizona. The Predators have the Sabres, Canucks and Blackhawks. A really easy slate, honestly, so the Jets better be on their best behavior.

The Preds are just 5-4-1 in their last 10, however, helping keep the Jets at the front. The Blues are playing well and are 7-2-1 in their last 10, and it would be some kind of upset if they took the division.

They’ll face the Blackhawks, Flyers and Canucks, so it’s not really a tough slate for them either. Winnipeg has the toughest remaining schedule. Losing to Chicago would have been catastrophic, but it didn’t stop the team from blowing another third period lead.

That’s kind of their specialty at this point. Connor Hellebuyck was underwhelming again, and at this point, I don’t know what more to expect. If the offense does manage to get a lead, they give it right back.

Or, more appropriately, they wait until the end of the game to give it back. How can you expect the Jets to win in the playoffs like this?  And now, the top end is struggling too.

Mark Scheifele has one point in his last six games, and six in his last fourteen. Blake Wheeler has one point in his last seven contests. This is when the team needs them most, and they’re invisible.

Jack Roslovic had to score two goals last night. I’m not sure that’s sustainable. Actually, I am sure. It isn’t sustainable. The team needs more, all around, and that’s really on Paul Maurice.

I don’t think it really even matters if the Jets can stay in front and win the division, and that’s a real bummer. We were the real April Fools all along.