DENVER — The first-round playoff opponent is set and home-ice advantage is still up for grabs.
All that’s left for the Winnipeg Jets are a pair of regular-season tuneups, beginning with Tuesday’s tilt against the Seattle Kraken (7 p.m. CT, TSN, CJOB).
The Jets are coming off a jaw-dropping 7-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday that extended their winning streak to six games and put the team in the pole position for second place in the Central Division.
Combined with the Avalanche losing 4-3 in overtime to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon (while blowing a 3-0 lead), the Jets will need to secure one point in order to host Games 1 and 2 at Canada Life Centre.
“For us, starting at home, it would be awesome playing in front of the fans,” Jets captain Adam Lowry after scoring a pair of goals against the Avalanche.
“We’ve worked so hard to put it in our control. That’s nice, but whether we start at home or on the road, we’re a real confident group. We like our team, we like our depth, we like how we can match up players at home or on the road. We’ll try to take care of that in the next couple of games.”
So what will the focus be for the Jets this week?
“We’re just focusing on being ready for Game 1,” said Lowry. “It’s nice to come in here and play really well, but come playoff time, we expect a better effort from them. We know they’re a much better team than they showed.
“You can’t take too much out of this. It’s nice to finish the road trip strong, it’s nice to continue playing well and go into these last two games with a lot of confidence.”
Fair enough.
Although they weren’t about to take a victory lap after Games 79 or 80, they clearly sent a message to the rest of the NHL with convincing victories over the Dallas Stars and Avalanche.
Beating them both was a feat in itself, outscoring them 10-0 was quite another.
Producing a converted touchdown against the Avalanche was impressive, though posting consecutive shutouts against the Stars and Avalanche was the feat that stands out most.
“We know if we play with the right structure and the right pressure, that we’re a very tough opponent,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “And when we do break down, which is going to happen, then our goalies are going to be there for us.”
If the Jets are able to locking down second place on Tuesday, the door is definitely open to have Laurent Brossoit make one more start in net Thursday.
Although he won’t reach the 25-game floor to have his name included on the Jennings Trophy if the Jets can stay in front of the Florida Panthers on that front, everyone knows how important the contribution Brossoit has made.
Connor Hellebuyck is dialed in and he won’t be run down, but giving him an additional night off and having him finish the season with 60 starts could be a benefit.
Continuing the commitment the Jets showed this week when it comes to team defence will be top of mind over the final two games, including Thursday’s finale against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Kraken have been eliminated from playoff contention, while the Canucks basically wrapped up top spot in the Pacific Division with Saturday’s win over the Oilers, so these outings probably won’t match the intensity of the previous two games.
That’s part of the challenge for the Jets, maintaining the high level they’ve played at against two division rivals.
It remains to be seen if Bowness will rest players who are banged up.
With Sunday’s result, he probably won’t do it before Thursday at the earliest.
After seeing Sean Monahan and Vladislav Namestnikov leave Saturday’s game in the third period for precautionary reasons, Bowness said there was no cause for concern.
The Jets are looking to get Nino Niederreiter back up to speed after sitting out the last five contests with a leg laceration, provided he makes it through Monday’s practice feeling good.
Provided the Jets clinch, there are some forwards they would like to get some game action.
On defence, the Jets have used the pairing of Logan Stanley and Dylan Samberg for four consecutive games and figure to do so for two more games since they haven’t spent a ton of time together.
The Jets would also like to get each of Nate Schmidt and Colin Miller into a game this week as well.
The Jets could also choose to reward strong seasons at the American Hockey League level with several call-ups, with forward Brad Lambert and defencemen Ville Heinola and Kyle Capobianco all on the list of players under consideration.
Depending on what happens in the coming days, top forward prospect Rutger McGroarty could arrive on the scene and make his NHL debut if the Jets can get his name on an entry-level contract.
The Jets won’t be shifting into cruise control either.
The trio of Monahan, Nikolaj Ehlers and Tyler Toffoli has been on fire since being reunited and the top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi had a pair of solid games as well.
The power play struck for a pair of goals on Saturday — a screened shot from Josh Morrissey and a beautiful backdoor pass from Connor to Vilardi — so keeping that running smoothly will also be important.
The remnants of the recent six-game losing skid (0-5-1) have been washed away, though not forgotten.
Another thing is abundantly clear: for a team that is looking to be playing its best hockey when the post-season arrives, the Jets are well positioned to do just that.
ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca
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Ken Wiebe
Sports reporter
Raised in the booming metropolis of Altona, Man., Ken Wiebe grew up wanting to play in the NHL, but after realizing his hands were more adept at typing than scoring, he shifted his attention to cover his favourite sport as a writer.
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