do NHL laggard teams pack it in at end? playoff contenders do well?

[rivercitybirdie]

hey, i'm fairly new to nhl betting and my interest in this is actually my beloved winnipeg jets hopefully making the playoffs for first time in winnipeg in this incarnation (and first time for franchise in a long time)

i see that winnipeg is 2 points up on los angeles... but los angeles has pretty easy schedule (edmonton twice) and winnipeg fairly hard remaining.

do non-playoffs teams roll over and play dead like they do in some other sports? of course occasionally you get young, motivated players getting playing time who do well but i'm thinking not too well

conversely, having watched winnipeg in the playoff race 2 of the last 3 years (not counting this year) it seems like teams near the playoffs (just IN or just OUT) seem to win alot at the end of the season......

can't remember what year it was but winnipeg was comfortably in a playoff spot, then was terrible from last 15 to last 10 games (i think they were outscored 10-1 by washington in some strange back-to-back series with both games in winnipeg)... then winnipeg got really smoking hot last 10 but so did the two others teams.

sorry i'm rambling... but is the fact LA plays edmonton twice really bad for winnipeg's playoff chances??... FYI, LA has the tiebreaker "real wins". winnipeg has a ton of shootout wins.

thanks in advance

 

[BoutMyMoney]

Believe It or not, even these basement teams who should obviously be tanking for McDavid, love love LOVE to play spoiler and ruin any teams chances to make the playoffs .... odds Will be nice on Edmonton those 2 games ... should chase them for 1 win ... will probably be +200 to +300..... or even Chase the +1.5 puck line

 

[rivercitybirdie]

boutmymoney, thank you...

i think the winnipeg being really hot the last 10 games but so were their key playoff candidate rivals was 2 years ago. keying it off a couple of things in my life and that feels right.

 

[rivercitybirdie]

for what it's worth i'm thinking NBA teams might give alot more minutes to reserves and especially to young players who barely play (bennett on the T-Wolves) whereas for whatever reason i'm thinking the NHL would stick to the first line being the first line and the powerplay being the same.... i think nba vs. nhl has completely different dynamics.

 

[he_dblhockeystx]

I hope winnipeg makes the playoffs.. Im a flyers fan, but ive always had a soft spot for the jets since selanne! Love that obscure small market underdog team!

 

[RenoChazz]

I think LA and Winnipeg both get in.

 

[RenoChazz]

Just read that Dustin Byfuglien has been suspended for four games, not good.

 

[rivercitybirdie]

I think LA and Winnipeg both get in.

and calgary misses? i think that's the only realistic way now............

 

[RenoChazz]

Yeah I think Calgary misses. They have to play LA one more time and I think that game seals their fate.

 

[rivercitybirdie]

i posed OP as a question as i didn't really know. although it was consistent with one of the recent years i paid attention, human nature and my vague recollection about some other leagues experience.

lo and behold, here are winnipeg, calgary, LA fairly hot at same time... i will have to check that observation as it might be wrong, but it sure feels like it (and i'm taking into account winnipeg's win tonight and LA's 1-0 lead in vancouver. hopefully they jinx them)