The Winnipeg Jets need to stabilize.
After a terrific first half of the season put them in the conversation for the Central Division title, the Jets have come back down to earth in a big way.
Winnipeg is just 10-13-2 in its last 25 games and comes into Florida with just one win in its last eight contests.
The Jets have a -14 goal difference in that span.
A few weeks ago, the Jets looked like a lock to make the playoffs.
Now, they’ve got Calgary on their tail and are in the middle of a rough stretch of schedule.
Jets vs. Panthers pick
(7 p.m. ET)
Although the Jets are reeling, they do have a couple of things going for them on Saturday night.
For one, they’re catching Florida on a back-to-back and secondly, they have a decided edge in goal with Connor Hellebuyck either taking on Sergei Bobrovsky (who would be playing for the second night in a row) or third-stringer Alex Lyon.
One thing that has stood out over this down stretch has been the goaltending.
Connor Hellebuyck has been one of the best netminders all season, but he’s going through a bit of a rough patch of late.
The Jets have allowed 35 goals in their last eight contests with Hellebuyck and David Rittich combining for an .850 save percentage in that span.
That number will tick up.
It’s hard to win with that kind of goaltending, but the rest of Winnipeg’s game looks OK.
The Jets are above 50% in shot attempt share, expected goals rate and high-danger scoring chance percentage.
Winnipeg is playing a lot of low-event style games, but it is coming out on the losing end of some tight tilts.
Winnipeg’s loss to Minnesota on Wednesday night was emblematic of that trend, as the Jets pumped 48 shots on goal but Marc-Andre Fleury played lights out in goal for the Wild.
It was another frustrating loss for the Jets, but the process looked good.
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On most nights Winnipeg wins that game.
The Jets will now face a much different challenge on Friday night.
While the Wild want to grind out victories, the Panthers prefer to use their speed through the neutral zone to create scoring chances.
Florida has plenty of skilled offensive players, so the Cats bet on themselves to come ahead in most back-and-forth affairs.
This should be a battle of contrasting styles, but the Jets have the schedule advantage and project to have a decided edge in goal.
It’s a good buy-low opportunity on a desperate team.