Winnipeg's Recent Surge Appearing Similar to Last Season's Late Turnaround

On Sunday, the Winnipeg Jets won a memorable game over the Tampa Bay Lightning where star center Mark Scheifele scored the game winning goal with just seconds left on the clock. 

It helped the Jets nab their third straight win after dropping nine in a row earlier this season. It was their first skid of that duration since last season when the Jets had lost 11 in a row from mid-December to early January. However, what followed could be playing out once again this season. 

Winnipeg would go on to win four in a row and kick off a rampant hot streak that saw them finish with a 20-9-7 record over their next 36 games. During that span, the Jets record was tied for sixth-best in the NHL, tied with three other teams, and saw their backend operate as the team's strength with the fifth-best goals against per game average in the league at 2.75 over the 36 games. 

Winnipeg could be very well starting a similar run as the offense has helped secure their last four wins with the Jets outscoring their opponents 15 to nine and could see their backend have a major rebound when Josh Morrissey returns in the coming games. 

The Jets hope to keep their recent form as they just finished one of their toughest stretches of the season but it won't be getting easier as their next few opponents are largely made up of playoff teams like the New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators, Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth and Boston Bruins all in the next two weeks. 

Winnipeg will have the upper hand of five of their next seven games will be on home ice and would love to see them continue to stack wins and start building towards playoff contention once again. The Jets sit just four points out of a playoff spot, behind the Utah Mammoth and Nashville Predators in the wild card spots and five points out of a divisional spot held by the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. 

While fans may have been down on Winnipeg following their start to the season, it can't be lost that they are nowhere near out of the fight for the playoffs. In fact, they've been in this exact same situation just months ago and Jets fans saw firsthand that this team can deal with adversity and bounce back. This time, it isn't happening before it's too late into the season.

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