Winnipeg Jets Entering Pivotal Stretch Against Central Division

The Winnipeg Jets are about to embark on a stretch that could go a long way in determining where they ultimately finish in the Central Division standings.

Jets Enter Stretch Against Central Seeking Consistency

Beginning Feb. 20, the Jets play five straight against their fellow Central-Division teams after not facing a Divisional opponent since Jan. 11. They face the Minnesota Wild in a game that’s bound to be testy after Ryan Hartman’s intentional high stick on Cole Perfetti six weeks ago, then face the Chicago Blackhawks (Feb. 23) Arizona Coyotes (Feb. 25) St. Louis Blues (Feb. 27) and Dallas Stars (Feb. 29.) These so called “four-point” games are pivotal to moving up the standings and represent half of their Divisional games remaining — after these five, the Jets have just five more against Central teams in their final 24.

The Jets enter this stretch playing a bit better, but not as well as they were through mid-January. They are, however, winners of three of their past four after suffering through a season-worst five-game losing streak.

While that poor stretch had many fans concerned a repeat of last season’s collapse was imminent — and many writers, this one included, repeated their warnings that a Jets’ second-half slump has been an unfortunate annual tradition in recent history — the team has managed to flip the narrative somewhat.

Related: Jets’ Second-Half Slump Has Arrived Right On Cue

They defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 thanks to Connor Hellebuyck’s strong performance that allowed a couple of early goals stand up, then beat the San Jose Sharks 1-0 (and could have beaten them by a lot more considering they fired 39 shots on Sharks’ goaltender Kappo Kahkonen while allowing only 17.)

Then, they posted one of their most impressive performances of the season in a physical 4-2 victory over the league-leading Vancouver Canucks. In what was consider a marquee matchup, the Jets’ offense — which had just nine goals in their eight previous games — woke up by scoring four for the first time since Jan. 16 and had two power-play markers (one of which was Sean Monahan’s first as a Jet.)