The Winnipeg Jets can put themselves on the verge of clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday afternoon.
The Jets (48-14-4, 100 points) are three points away from becoming the first team in the Western Conference to secure a postseason berth. They hold an eight-point lead over Central Division-foe Dallas Stars, who are second in the West.
“We’ve still got a race going in the Central,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “[The players] recognize that the two points (Sunday) are a very big two points, and then we’ll move on to the next one after that. At the end of the day, being home is always great but you’ve got to take advantage of it as well.”
The Sunday contest kicks off a four-game homestand, with the Jets boasting a 25-5-4 record as the hosts. Seven of their final 12 games will be on home ice.
“Obviously, played lots on the road lately, so it’s nice to be at home and great to play in front of our fans,” forward Cole Perfetti said. “Four really big games, and every game matters so much now coming down the stretch. We know the task at hand, and we just have to take care of business.”
Winnipeg has been doing plenty of that lately, winning six of its past eight games after a three-game skid. The Jets have outscored the opposition 27-19 over those eight games, with six of the goals against coming in a 6-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
While the Jets lead the NHL with a 30 percent success rate on the power play, things haven’t been as hot of late, going 1-for-16 over the past six games and 6-for-39 over the past 15.
“There’s been some games here where we’ve had some great chances and great looks and great power plays. It’s just the puck hasn’t gone in, and I think on a consistent basis, we could be a little bit more of that attack mindset,” Perfetti said.
The Sabres (27-35-6, 60 points) land in Winnipeg looking to close out their four-game road trip on a good note. They opened the trip with an overtime win in Boston but have lost each of their past two, falling to the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday before a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Buffalo had a strong first period against Minnesota but struggled in the second when the Wild scored three goals in the first eight minutes.
“I thought we played a model first period,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We didn’t make them pay; we could have made them pay. And then we get caught on a little bit of a long shift to start the second. Our ‘D’ didn’t get off the ice. I think when you’re going back slow, we didn’t find coverage right away, didn’t get to the puck and they just kind of set the tone for the period.”
Winger JJ Peterka scored the lone goal for Buffalo, his second in as many games after missing three games with a lower-body injury. The 23-year-old, who has already set career highs in assists (32) and points (53), has 21 goals on the season and is seven shy of matching his total from last season.
–Field Level Media
