Jets win, but a cascade of late-night results elsewhere continues to crush their playoff hopes. The path to the postseason just got significantly steeper.
The Winnipeg Jets took care of business against the Seattle Kraken on Monday night, but nothing else seemed to go Winnipeg's way.
In fact, it was a 'worst case scenario' sort of late-night slate out West.
In order for the Jets' playoff chances to improve following Monday's action, the Jets would have needed to earn two points in their game with the visiting Kraken, the Nashville Predators would have needed to beat the Los Angeles Kings in regulation, while the Chicago Blackhawks would have needed to beat the San Jose Sharks - also in regulation.
Photo by Danny TruongUnfortunately for those hoping for a whiteout this spring, none of that happened - except for the Jets win, of course.
Kyle Connor scored twice, while Mark Scheifele collected career points No. 899, 900 and 901 on the evening in Winnipeg's 6-2 thrashing of the Kraken.
The problems began in the later games, where Nashville rallied to come back and force overtime in California, only to see the Kings pull out the victory in the shootout.
Then, in San Jose, a big second period saw the Sharks take a 3-2 win over the visiting Blackhawks, handing the hosts another two points, leapfrogging the Jets, who had momentarily passed them in the standings with their earlier win over Seattle.
As it stands, San Jose earned two points, Los Angeles earned two points, Winnipeg earned two points and Nashville earned one point - likely the worst outcome for the Jets other than a loss at home.
With the loss, the Jets' postseason chances have dropped to roughly 7.2 percent.
Currently remaining three points back of the Kings, Winnipeg has a vastly more difficult remaining schedule over the next week-and-a-half. The Kings need just two wins over their next five games, while the Jets would need just two losses in their final five to cement the final postseason standings.
The Kings play Vancouver two times, Calgary, Edmonton and Seattle, while Winnipeg takes on St. Louis, Philadelphia, Vegas, Utah and San Jose to wrap up the season.
Stranger things have happened, and a winner-take-all season finale between the Jets and Sharks would certainly be must-see television, but at this point, the odds are heavily against Winnipeg hosting any whiteout street parties this spring.