Winnipeg Jets vs. Florida Panthers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/15/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL

Where to watch: Bally Sports Florida, NHL Network, TSN3

DraftKings: Panthers -270, Jets +215

BetMGM: Panthers -250, Jets +200

Caesars: Panthers -270, Jets +220

Jets: 35-28-11

Panthers: 52-15-6

The Winnipeg Jets are running out of time. The Florida Panthers are just cruising along, deciding to defeat whomever they want to with a chance to play for the Stanley Cup in sight.

 

Florida doesn’t need to worry about much, unless it wants the Presidents Trophy over the Colorado Avalanche. They won’t have much to play for when they host the Jets on Friday in Sunrise.

 

The Jets, however, still have hope, but are quickly running out of time with eight games remaining. Winnipeg currently sits eight points back of both wild-card spots in the West held by the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators. The Vegas Golden Knights are also sitting comfy six points clear despite the Jets having a game in hand.

 

Winnipeg has points in three straight after defeating the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Monday. Evgeny Svechnikov scored the go-ahead goal, and Morgan Barron added a goal and an assist while Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves.

 

"We need to win a lot of games down the stretch if we want to get into the [Stanley Cup Playoffs]," Barron said. "I think everyone's mindset is still getting in and going on a run here. So we're taking it one game at a time, but just to come out with two points in a game like that, it's huge for us."

 

The Jets need to essentially run the table and hope that one of those three teams mentioned above falls a bit flat in the final stretch. Given that Vegas is coming off a 6-1 win in Calgary on Thursday, there’s a lot of momentum with that group as it heads for a crucial matchup with Edmonton in less than 48 hours.

 

But the odds that the Jets will do that are nearly slim to none. It’s been a struggle for this group that is in the midst of a rebuild all the while trying to find out if interim coach Dave Lowry is the right guy for the job.

 

A win against the Panthers could very much do that, but that would require a Herculean effort from a Florida team that has done nothing but score and score a lot over the course of this season. The Panthers’ plus-89 goal differential is tops in the league, with the league-leading Colorado Avalanche right behind them.

 

The Panthers have won eight in a row and are coming off a 3-2 overtime victory over the Anaheim Ducks to cross the 110-point threshold this season. Jonathan Huberdeau, charging ever so quickly for a Hart Trophy candidacy, scored the winning goal to give him 105 points this season. Anthony Duclair added two goals in regulation to continue his career-high season, surpassing the 30-goal mark.

 

"We never get discouraged," Huberdeau said. "We know it's going to happen. We put up 55 shots, at some point it's going to go in. We stuck with it. That's the kind of team we are. We want to finish first. Every win is important. We want to keep playing well, keep playing better heading into the playoffs."

 

That’s one way to do it. It’s also crazy to think that the Panthers are on a collision course for a first-round matchup with the Washington Capitals if the playoffs were to begin today. Passing the torch from Alex Ovechkin to Sasha Barkov and Huberdeau seems like a fitting way to go, I’d say. Not that Ovechkin is retiring, considering the Caps signed him to a crazy extension to keep him in D.C. until he breaks Gretzky’s record, but that’s the direction we’re headed.

I’d normally go the traditional route and say Hellebuyck can steal the Jets a game, but I’m not feeling that confident right now. I think given the extra day off due to weather suspending their game against Seattle, Winnipeg will look amped for this game. But this is Florida, and no one’s stopping the Panthers right now. Panthers win 5-2

Jets are 25-32 the past three seasons following a non-conference game.

Jets are 7-19 the past three seasons after scoring three goals or more in three straight games.

Panthers are 41-19 the past three seasons when playing their second game in five days.

Jets:

Kyle Connor -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Evgeny Svechnikov

Zach Sanford -- Paul Stastny -- Nikolaj Ehlers

Morgan Barron -- Adam Lowry -- Mason Appleton

Michael Eyssimont -- Dominic Toninato -- Adam Brooks

Josh Morrissey -- Dylan DeMelo

Nate Schmidt -- Neal Pionk

Dylan Samberg -- Brenden Dillon

Connor Hellebuyck

Panthers:

Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Anthony Duclair

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Sam Bennett -- Claude Giroux

Mason Marchment -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart

Maxim Mamin -- Eetu Luostarinen -- Patric Hornqvist

Ben Chiarot -- MacKenzie Weegar

Gustav Forsling -- Brandon Montour

Robert Hagg -- Radko Gudas

Sergei Bobrovsky

Points: Kyle Connor -- 85

Goals: Kyle Connor -- 42

Assists: Kyle Connor -- 43

Goalie: Connor Hellebuyck -- 27-25-10, 2.93 GAA, .911 SV%

Points: Jonathan Huberdeau -- 105

Goals: Sasha Barkov -- 34

Assists: Jonathan Huberdeau -- 28

Goalie: Sergei Bobrovsky -- 35-6-3, 2.70 GAA, .911 SV%