Despite a 12-point gap in the standings, both teams are fighting for playoff spots as the Winnipeg Jets visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.
The Jets (32-31-12, 76 points) sit three points back of the Western Conference’s final wild-card spot. The Blue Jackets (38-26-12, 88 points) are tied with Ottawa and Detroit for the final Eastern Conference berth but lose the tiebreaker in regulation wins.
Both teams are coming off lopsided losses Thursday — Columbus fell 5-1 in Carolina, while Winnipeg dropped a 3-0 decision in Dallas — and drew criticism from their head coaches.
“We had some guys out there (pour) their whole heart and soul into that game, we really did, and then we had some guys give us absolutely nothing,” said Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness. “So, if we want to make a serious effort to get in, it’s going to take a whole lot more than some of those guys gave us tonight. They can say all they want, ‘Oh, we want to get in, we want to get in’. I’d shut up and let my play do my talking for me.”
Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner said the team’s urgency over its final six games will determine its playoff fate.
“It definitely is,” Jenner said when asked if Saturday’s game was a gut check. “We know the spot we’ve put ourselves in here. At the end of the day, it’s up to us to step up and go take it if we want it. We know what’s at stake, and the belief is in this room.”
The loss was Columbus’ fifth straight, four of which have come in regulation. Winnipeg, meanwhile, had been climbing the standings, winning four of five and posting a 10-4-4 record since the February Olympic break before the setback in Dallas.
Jets coach Scott Arniel said Thursday’s performance resembled the inconsistency that created their deficit.
“Everybody has a role to play and you gotta go out and play it,” Arniel said. “And if we don’t have 20 guys playing to their identity, it makes it very difficult for us. And that’s the one thing that we’ve gotten since the break. … Tonight, it was loose. We were missing 9-10 guys. … They know that wasn’t good enough. That’s not gonna win you hockey games. We’re desperate. We have to be desperate right from the start of the game.”
With seven games remaining, captain Adam Lowry said the margin for error is gone.
“There’s lessons to be learned from games like these,” said Lowry. “We’ll review the tape and then find a way to get a good start like we had in Colorado. It’s tough going into other team’s rinks and playing from behind and digging yourself two, three-goal deficits, which generally don’t lead to good outcomes.”
On the injury front, Winnipeg’s Nino Niederreiter and Vladislav Namestnikov are day-to-day after shedding non-contact jerseys in practice. Elias Salomonsson is also day-to-day after leaving Thursday’s game under concussion protocol.
For Columbus, Mason Marchment is day-to-day and Dmitry Voronkov is week-to-week. Also, defenseman Damon Severson underwent season-ending shoulder on Thursday. He was injured on March 26.
