Remember when I said this? No? Of course not, nobody's reading this. But the answer is categorically yes! With tonight's 4-3 overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes, the Jets are still keeping pace with the New York Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Winnipeg has also reclaimed the MTS magic that was missing the first half of the season and at the perfect time as they strive to clinch a playoff spot with their fifth consecutive win. Dustin Byfuglien scored his second overtime winner of the season when he cruised in to tap in Andrew Ladd's overtime rebound, a minute and 18 seconds into the extra frame.
Bryan Little added two assists to the effort in his 400th NHL game that
should have been a blowout according to the Hurricanes first period
play. The Jets limited the Canes to three shots in the opening frame.
But after that, the Hurricanes woke up and and fought back to score
twice, erasing two different two-goal deficits. Ondrej Pavelec saved
the Jets for the umpteenth time this shortened season by robbing
multiple Hurricanes from quality scoring chances. He went 24 for 27 in winning his 19th of the season.
Zach Bogosian, Andrew
Ladd and Blake Wheeler also scored two points. Bogosian with a goal
and an assist, Wheeler with the same and Ladd with a helper on
Bogosian's opener and Byfuglien's OT winner.
The Jets are still giving the game away in the third period. If it wasn't for Pavelec (which has been a constant theme over the last two seasons) the Jets would be asking themselves where the season went. They'll definitely be thinking that if they don't finish off the surging New York Islanders if they get the chance this Saturday.
With Pavelec's name being chanted throughout the game, Byfuglien's seven crushing hits and game winner and the Jets second consecutive victory in extra time-all in the middle of a five-game home winning streak-the loud, intimidating aura of the MTS Centre has reclaimed itself. The seventh man was back as the home crowd was once again alive with chants for the visiting Hurricanes as well as keeping the officials on their toes. Speaking of which, the Jets power-play remains innocuous as they went 1-6 with the extra man on the night.
A complete turnaround from their previous five contests in which they went 0-5 and lost any confidence and momentum from a decent March win-loss record. The confidence and momentum are now back and the Jets find themselves keeping pace not only with the Rangers, but with the Washington Capitals eight-game winning streak halted by Ottawa and the Jets on a significant winning streak of their own, they remain only two points behind the South-East division leaders for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. Any faltering by Washington and continued success by the Jets, the dream of a NHL divisional championship banner hanging in the MTS Centre is still alive. It would take more than a little faltering by the Caps to do so however as Alex Ovechkin is still tearing it up. But it's still possible for the Jets to take first place (I can't believe I'm typing this after their most recent skid) and it would make the April 23 match up in Washington all the more intense.
The Jets now stand at ninth place in the Eastern Conference with 48 points. They remained tied with the eighth-place New York Rangers; also with 48 points, but claim eighth due to a game at hand on the Jets.
With four games and a possible eight points remaining, the Jets, with help from other teams and continued success the rest of the way, can find themselves anywhere from third to eighth in the East. On the other hand, if they begin to falter themselves and find themselves in yet another inexplicable funk, they could easily slip out of the playoff picture altogether. Such is the current NHL playoff format compounded with a 48-game season.
