Winnipeg Jets Learn Valuable Lesson In Shutout Loss

The Winnipeg Jets experienced something on Thursday night during a 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins that will do nothing but teach the team a lesson: that the team has a long way to go to compete at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Jets are a very solid team but in a weak Southeast Division, their No. 3 seed for the playoffs may not last very long.

Winnipeg is in the bottom ten of the NHL in every major category including goals per game, goals against and power play percentage. I’m not disputing that the Jets can’t win a few games in the playoffs or even an entire series, but a few things need to change.

Winnipeg can’t depend on Andrew Ladd to do all their scoring. Ladd is leading the team with 32 points and even with a career year out of him, the Jets are just 18-15-2 for the season. That is good enough for a six-point lead in the division, but every other team in their division is either .500 or below that mark.

The Jets would be in seventh place in the Eastern Conference right now if the standings were strictly on points, so having the lead in a weaker division may help the team in the playoffs by being home.

Winnipeg should go out and make a move to get more scoring on their roster. The Jets have given up 15 more goals than they have scored this year, which is alarming. There needs to be more offense and if the Jets can take a page from Pittsburgh, it means it’s time to make a trade for offensive help.

Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.