Playoff Push #64: Winnipeg Jets host Los Angeles Kings

The Jets enter today’s game *still* holding onto the first Wild Card spot in the west with a 31-20-12 record. This is good enough for fourth in the Central Division and fifth in the Western Conference. They face upswinging and #fancystats All-Stars, the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings currently hold a 29-20-12 record.

Jets lost their last game in the shootout and are 5-2-3 in their last ten. The Kings are on an impressive 8-2-0 run over their last 10.

Playoff Push Update:

Lines provided by DailyFaceoff.com

Blake Wheeler makes his return to the line up, meaning Eric O`Dell is out. O`Dell was apparently more deserving of the third line than T.J. Galiardi or Anthony Peluso last game, but those two are more deserving of the fourth line. Huh…

At least Adam Pardy is not playing as a forward due to his “penalty killing abilities”.

Speaking of Pardy, if Pardy is so great on the PK, why not put him in Jay Harrison’s place? Harrison is no stalwart on 5-on-5 or power play. At least the Jets have 3 pretty strong defenders on the right side.

Michael Hutchinson has taken the starting role, with his sixth start in seven games. Hutchinson has a 18-7-5 record and a 0.920 save percentage.

The Kings carry a pretty deep team, and why they are one of the league’s best Score-Adjusted Corsi percentage performers in the NHL. Tyler Toffoli leads the team with 19 goals, while Anze Kopitar leads with 33 assists, and Jeff Carter with 46 points.

The depth continues on their blue line. Andrej Sekera has been an underrated defender for some time. Jake Muzzin also tends to be ignored due to his defensive partner.

While the Kings blueline consists of underrated performers, the net has been dominated by overrated performers. Not that Jonathan Quick is bad by any stretch of the imagination. Quick has stopped 91.5 percent of shots while Martin Jones has stopped 90.7 percent.

Game Day Predictions: Jets always will be predicted to win. We are a Jets blog.

Obvious Predictions: Jets spend periods trapped in their own zone against one of the top Score-Adjusted Corsi teams in the league.

Not So Obvious Predictions: They spend less time than many expect, since -while the Los Angeles Kings have been the top Score-Adjusted Corsi team since the All-Star Game- the Jets have been the second best Score-Adjusted Corsi team since the All-Star Game.

The Jets Nation tracksuit shirt is back in the gear store (click link up top):

Shipping is free in Canada and partial proceeds goes to Earth Group.