The Winnipeg Jets started this road trip extremely well by beating the team at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the Montreal Canadiens, and another team near the bottom of the East, the Ottawa Senators.
Then the Jets were supposed to return home for a game against the Seattle Kraken, but that game was canceled and the Jets were forced to remain on the road for another four games.
The Jets were then faced with the tough task of going against four of the top-five teams in the Eastern Conference, and as we all know the Jets were no match for their opposition.
The Winnipeg Jets have struggled mightily against some of the NHL’s best teams
The Jets started this part of the road trip with a back-to-back against the Florida Panthers, the NHL’s Presidents Trophy leader, and then the Tampa Bay Lightning, the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions.
The Jets were blown away by the Panthers by losing 6-1 in Sunrise and got outshot 43-31. Then Winnipeg followed that game up by giving up a 4-2 lead in the middle of the game to the Lightning en route to losing 7-4.
Then the Jets came up against the two teams battling for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes.
Just like their Flordia leg of the trip, the Jets were no match for the Rangers as they were shutout 3-0 at Madison Square Garden, and then they finished the trip by getting outshot 46-22 and losing 4-2 to the Hurricanes.
This road trip was a great indication of why the Jets will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2016-2017 season. The Jets are successful against the teams in the lower part of the standings, but when they come up against the teams that are near the top of the NHL standings, they are no match and do not pick up any points against these teams.
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One eye-opening stat regarding the 2021-2022 Winnipeg Jets is they have a 2-12-2 record against the 2022 Eastern Conference playoff teams. The Jets struggles against the best of the East have come back to hurt the Jets and are one of the main reasons why they will miss the postseason this season.