NHL Playoff Prediction: Wild Card Team Makes a Run

Apr 7, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Winnipeg Jets teammates celebrate defeating the St. Louis Blues 1-0 at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Ever since the Los Angeles Kings’ magical Stanley Cup run in 2012 much has been made about the fact that the NHL playoffs are wide open and any team that gets hot at the right time can win the Stanley Cup. The new playoff format has changed from the traditional 1-8 seeding, however the addition of the Wild Card teams allows for even more discussion to be had about the last teams into the playoffs.

This season, one of the four Wild Card teams may make a deep playoff run and perhaps hoist the Stanley Cup come June. The Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins are the Eastern Conference Wild Card teams while the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets will be representing the Western Conference. Each of the four teams have reasons to believe they can capture that Kings magic and make a deep postseason run.

The Ottawa Senators have been the hottest team in the league leading up to the start of the playoffs. The play of goaltender Andrew Hammond allowed the Senators to earn 50 of a potential 62 points during the final two months of the season. Hammond finished the season with an unbelievable record of 20-1-2. If he can continue his strong play the Senators will be a difficult team to beat, regardless of how much offensive firepower they have.

Young players such as Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman have played key roles throughout the Senators late season run. As a whole, the team ranks 18^th in the league in Corsi percentage, which does not bode well for a deep playoff run. For example, this past season the Kings had the best Corsi percentage and the Blackhawks had the second best. If the Senators will be this season’s Cinderella team Andrew Hammond will have to continue his spectacular play.

The Penguins have trended in the opposite direction than that of the Senators, winning only 3 of their final 10 games. Kris Letang is out injured with a concussion and Evgeni Malkin has not recorded a point in the last five games. The Penguins have been bit hard by the injury bug, especially on defense. Christian Ehrhoff returned to practice this afternoon and the team is hopeful he can return as soon as possible.

While all signs may point to a first round loss at the hands of the President’s Trophy winning Rangers, the Penguins may have an answer in the form of Sidney Crosby. If the Penguins have any hope of advancing past the first round Crosby will have to exceed expectations, which will be easier said than done considering Crosby is the best player in hockey. Stellar play from Malkin and goaltender Marc Andre Fleury will also be crucial in order for the Penguins to contend for another Stanley Cup.

In the Western Conference the Minnesota Wild are up against the St. Louis Blues in their first round series. Since acquiring goalie Devan Dubnyk from the Edmonton Oilers the team has taken off and Dubnyk has been one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. Veteran forwards Zach Parise, Jason Pominville and Tomas Vanek will have to contribute in order for the Wild to advance past the Blues.

The Wild and Senators find themselves in nearly identical situations. Both teams will be relying on the play of young inexperienced goaltenders against veteran playoff teams. Although the goalies have been playing exceptionally well, the playoff pressure may impact their performance and if that were to happen the team’s chances of winning would significantly decrease.

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The Winnipeg Jets have the best chance to surprise the top seeded teams in the 2015 playoffs. The Jets boast the 8^th best Corsi percentage, while their first round opponent (the Anaheim Ducks) are ranked 17^th. The Jets are not an easy team to play against; they play a very physical and structured game. The Jets home crowd will also be a weapon throughout the playoffs. Winnipeg is already home to some of the loudest fans, and the fact that it has been almost 20 years since the Jets have hosted a playoff game will only make the building an even tougher place to play.

The Jets also made impact moves at the trade deadline. Since being acquired from Buffalo, Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford appear to have found their game. Both players were streaky players while in Buffalo and they have hit their stride at the perfect time to help the Jets win in the playoffs. Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has won 9 of his last 12 starts and the Jets only allow an average of 28.7 shots on goal per game.

The new found depth at forward, raucous crowd and strong goaltending make the Winnipeg Jets the Wild Card team most likely to make a run in the upcoming playoffs.

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