A week or two ago, this game was already seemingly a big game between two teams fighting for regular season Central Division supremacy, but the added stakes of a possible “win and they’re in” playoff scenario makes tonight’s game even bigger for the Winnipeg Jets.

Not only have the Jets been “fighting” for playoff positioning with Nashville and Minnesota and “fighting” to stay healthy over the last two months, but they (or at least Blake Wheeler and Ben Chiarot) decided that wasn’t enough and decided to fight each other. Jets fans seem to be split on whether or not this was a good sign of a fired up club, or a stupid incident that risked more injury (the answer would likely be somewhere in the middle). What is a good sign is that this team has won it’s last four games in a row, the last two being of the Kyle Connor scoring in overtime variety. Tonight is the fifth game of their six game homestand.

Suddenly after losses to Toronto at home and Minnesota on the road, the Preds look like any other hockey team with vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Not many mind you, but it has gone to prove that unless Pekka Rinne is absolutely lights out in the Nashville goal, this team is very beatable. Last night was a bad night all around as the Preds played a very ho-hum effort that their coach Peter Laviolette got tossed late in the game.

This is the fifth and final meeting between the two teams and the season series has not gone well for the Jets to say the least having gone 1-4-0 against Nashville. The last two contests have in particular not been good as the Jets gave up three un-answered in the third period back on February 27 in a 6-5 loss, then almost two full weeks ago, were blitzed early in the first period, gave up two(!) short handed goals and lost 3-1. The caveat in those two losses if you’re a Jets fan is that Winnipeg has for the most part hung in against a pretty good Nashville side with a less than ideal / healthy lineup. Not that the Jets are full health tonight – Jacob Trouba and Tobias Enstrom are out still – but the Jets are “healthy-ish” compared to previous games against Nashville.

It wouldn’t be very Winnipeg of the Jets to just go ahead and win tonight and clinch a playoff spot nice and clean. Nope, the Winnipeg way of doing things is scratch out a single point then wait for the Oilers to beat the Ducks. That’s the prediction for today.. Jets lose 4-3 in overtime, Oilers beat the Ducks 4-2. Happy playoff clinching day!