The Western Conference wild card race is truly wild

Today on Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Steven Ellis discuss the Western Conference wild card race and how it is heating up and has no signs of slowing down. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: If any team in the Western Conference wants that final Wild Card spot it seems like they can have it. The Winnipeg Jets have been slumping for what feels like a month and a half now Steven and yet they’re still in control of their own destiny when you look at the playoff picture here. They’re still up on Nashville when you look at the points percentage, you can sit there and think Nashville has all these games in hand and don’t worry they’ll find a way to win two of those and pass the Jets. But, one, have you looked at how they’ve been playing as of late even against the Jets in a game this weekend they couldn’t pick up a win, then they get blown out on Sunday.

You can sit and look at games in hand and that’s all wonderful to think they can get six points and pass the Jets. But at this point in the season and with less than a month to go having games in hand just means your schedule is way busier than any of those other teams. On top of already being worn down from playing 70 games this season, you now might have more back-to-backs and stretches of games. The point is Steven, the Calgary Flames aren’t winning a lot, none of these teams have more than five wins in their last ten games. Are you maybe a little surprised at the lack of competitiveness or desperation some of these teams are playing with? 

Steven Ellis: Well, if you told me that at this point Vancouver would be on a bit of a better run than say Winnipeg, Seattle, Calgary and Nashville, I’m not sure id believe it. When Nashville went out and traded Mattias Ekholm it was a sign. I really had no faith in that team to begin with, so the fact they were still in this race is solid. To me, they kind of really relied on a great defenseman and a great goaltender last season. If they’re not out there and don’t go make those improvements, like how your defenseman is still your top scorer, that’s not a good sign. Saros hasn’t been the same world-changing goalie we saw last year. The one that’s more confusing to me, I think it’s good that Winnipeg has been able to go out and get all those wins earlier in the season to put them in that spot where they still do have a bit of leeway to continue losing.

But, all it takes is one really good run by the Flames to change things or Nashville again winning those games.  Or they could lose all three games at hand and it’s pretty much over at that point. That’s the argument of “oh they got these games at hand,” and I don’t like that one because, like you said, it’s going to be busy, there’s a lot of pressure and they aren’t playing good hockey right now. At a certain point you need to be able to find your confidence and when you look at Winnipeg they know they’re a good team, they’ve got the talent and were one of the best teams at the beginning of the year. They just need to gain that confidence back and even going on a two-game winning streak is a good sign but it’s hit and miss and you got to think they’re doubting themselves. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: It’s absolutely crunch time. If you can just get hot for seven days and win three of four games with the way some teams have been sputtering in the West, you’re going to separate yourself in that race.  

You can watch the full episode here…