JETS IN JEOPARDY
Unless a win streak materializes, key players could be moved at deadline
— It’s approaching now or never time for the Winnipeg Jets.
Although the calendar just flipped to January and the new year opened with plenty of optimism for the Jets after a 4-1 triumph over the San Jose Sharks, a 4-1 defeat to the Anaheim Ducks one night later brought them back down to earth.
Faced with a back-to-back situation, the Jets were unable to find their skating legs against a well-rested Ducks team opening an eightgame homestand.
As a result, the Jets fell below .500 at 18-19-2 and dropped to 1-2 on what has been hailed as a season-defining road trip that includes a tilt Thursday against the Dallas Stars.
While it’s true the Jets have 43 games left, Tuesday’s game against the Nashville Predators falls under the category of got-to-have.
A clean loss for the Jets and they’ll find themselves a whopping nine points behind the Predators, who hold down the final wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
A win pulls the Jets within five points and gives them a chance to finish the trip on a positive note.
Two losses to close out the week would leave the Jets in serious trouble, as once again, the Jets find themselves closer to last place overall (five points) than a playoff spot (seven points).
That’s nothing a lengthy winning streak can’t cure, but the problem for the Jets is they still haven’t found a way to string together more than two victories in a row. For a team that lost six straight (0-5-1) earlier this season, that’s just not acceptable.
Jets head coach Paul Maurice took umbrage with a question about inconsistency following Sunday’s loss, asserting the effort has been there most nights.
“I don’t think we’ve been inconsistent at all,” Maurice said. “There’s no great run of (wins) there, but I don’t feel we’ve been inconsistent. We’ve been a really consistent team. We’ve played hard, played well.”
It’s Maurice’s job to stay positive, especially when his group is going through a challenging time. But as Maurice has often said himself, this is a results-oriented business.
Effort isn’t always enough and one thing the Jets were so good at last season during their run to the playoffs was paying attention to the finer details, especially in the defensive zone.
Big decisions about the future of the Jets are nearing, since general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff must soon decide what he’s going to do with captain Andrew Ladd and defenceman Dustin Byfuglien with the trade deadline less than two months away.
It’s my belief that one of those players gets signed and the other is dealt, but if the Jets’ situation doesn’t improve in the next few weeks, Cheveldayoff might be tempted to move both players.
If the Jets can’t get on a roll quickly, the organization might soon be faced with the reality that two members of the leadership core could be on the way out of town.
That’s something that probably won’t sit well with many veterans.
This group thought they were ready to take the next step after getting a taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring.
The harsh reality is if they don’t find another gear soon, that dream of a consecutive playoff appearance will soon fade to black.