With four consecutive losses, including the last two at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and tonight against a Tampa Bay Lightning squad that should have been ripe for the picking, the Jets are fading fast out of the hunt for the last playoff spot in the Western conference.
Before Friday, the Chicago Blackhawks trailed 4-0 in the season series against the Winnipeg Jets. by the end of the night, the Hawks showed why the Jets domination over them may not have been a fluke, but the Hawks showed that they are still the better team. A 5-2 loss not only snapped that streak, but put the Jets at a point that they now must win at last the next three games to have any chance of staying in the wild-card hunt.
Even after the loss on Friday night, the Jets remained at 54 points and were still only three points out of the playoff picture. After tonight's 4-1 loss to the Lightning, the Jets are now officially in dire straights.
They face the Dallas Stars at the MTS Centre Tuesday, then embark on a four-game road trip to Pittsburgh, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, before coming home to face the Minnesota Wild on February 28.
I do not expect the Jets to come home with any points from the trip. In fact, the next time the Jets play at the MTS Centre after this next game against the Stars, I fully expect the Winnipeg Jets to be all but out of the playoff picture. Perhaps not mathematically, but, they'll be done.
