By the numbers: Winnipeg Jets vs. playoff teams in 2024

Be sure to check Betway to check out the latest Jets game day odds and bet on the NHL! Since the start of 2024, the Winnipeg Jets are 4-7-1 against playoff teams. Are the Jets just a bunch of phonies who can only beat the weaker teams in the NHL on a regular basis, or does this team have something under the hood that we aren’t seeing?

In the 12 games the Jets have played against playoff teams in 2024, they have faced the Eastern Conference in eight games against six different teams. They lost both games to the Philadelphia Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, with a record of 0-3-1 against them and ultimately being outscored by Philly and Toronto 3-11 in those four games.

Continuing with the Eastern games, the Jets were 3-4-1 against the eastern conference and were outscored 16-22, with all the games against those teams having at least a day break between them.

Against the Eastern playoff teams, Connor Hellebuyck is 3-3-0 with a goals-against average of 2.83, while Laurent Brossoit has a 0-2-0 record and a goals-against average of 2.5.

Against the Western playoff teams, the Jets have only played four games against three teams. They are 1-1-0 against the Vancouver Canucks and have been outscored 4-7 by them. Overall, the Jets are 1-3-0  and have been outscored 7-15 against the teams they are most likely to play in the first three rounds of the postseason.

The two games against the Central Division playoff teams have been ugly for the Jets. Both Dallas and Nashville made the Jets look like a bunch of AHLers. The Jets have been outplayed by the Dallas Stars in pretty much every game they have played against each other in the last two seasons. They will be the biggest, toughest test for the Jets and might be the only team standing in the way of a deep playoff run.

In the last ten games against the Stars, the Jets have a brutal 3-7-0 record and have been outscored 26-32. If the Jets miss Dallas in the first round, there is a great chance the two current top teams in the Central face off against each other in the second round, and it could be a blowout.

Nashville is a young, hungry team that made Canada Life Centre a dull building on March 13th. It seems like the playoff teams just need to score the first goal, and then they can play a decent shutdown defensive game, sucking the life out of the Jets.

I currently have nothing to say about the Colorado Avalanche but the Jets will face them one more time in the regular season with the Jets winning the first two games and have out scored them 10-4. The third game between these two teams goes April 13th. That game will be one of the most important games of the season for the Jets.

The Jets have only won games against playoff teams this year by scoring three or more goals. The team has addressed the lack of scoring by bringing in Tyler Toffoli as a top-six right-shot shooter. Now we have only experienced one playoff opponent in the Tyler Toffoli era with no Mark Scheifele or Gabriel Vilardi. So we don’t know what this can really be against playoff teams as we have missed two of the regulars on the top line.

As I close this article out, it really doesn’t matter that the Jets have played poorly against playoff teams in 2024, but we should be cautiously optimistic as we go down the stretch into the end of the regular season with what we know now. The Jets have been taking losses to the best teams, but we haven’t seen a fully healthy squad yet. With the flu bug hopefully gone from the locker room, the Jets can gel.

The homer in me says this team can be successful against almost anyone when they are healthy over a seven-game series. I’m not worried about the numbers just yet, but I am going to keep a close eye on the Jets during the final nine games against playoff teams. The Jets need to win five of those games, and if they do, they sail into the postseason feeling good. Anything less, and a betting man will bet against them even if they are his favorite team.