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Winnipeg Jets face two tough road swings and two huge home opportunities

Mason

Winnipeg Jets goalie Chris Mason stretches on day two of the NHL hockey team’s training camp Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Woods)

AP

With the 2011-12 season rapidly approaching, the gang at PHT decided to take a look at all 30 NHL teams’ schedules. Each team’s highs and lows will be studied in detail to give you an idea of what the future might hold for each squad.

Note: Mileage figures via On the Forecheck’s “Super Schedule.”

Winnipeg Jets schedule analysis

Total mileage: 44,627 (10th most in NHL, second most in Southeast)

Back-to-back games: 14

Toughest stretches

The Jets play four of their first six games away from Winnipeg, but there are two stretches that jump out as big challenges for the returning heroes.

The first hurdle begins later that month, as the Jets play seven consecutive road games from Oct. 27 to Nov. 8. Four of the seven teams made the playoffs last season, while the Devils, Islanders and Panthers have a shot at being much-improved in 2011-12. The silver lining is there will only be one set of back-to-back games, as they play the Devils on Nov. 5 and Rangers on Nov. 6.

A tough span from January to mid-February will likely be the Jets’ biggest test of the season, though.

Jan. 4: at Montreal
Jan. 5: at Toronto
Jan. 7: at Buffalo
Jan. 10: at Boston
Jan. 12: home vs. San Jose
Jan. 14: home vs. New Jersey
Jan. 16: at Ottawa
Jan. 17: at New Jersey
Jan. 19: home vs. Buffalo
Jan. 21: home vs. Florida
Jan. 23: at Carolina
Jan. 24: at NY Rangers
Jan. 31: at Philadelphia
Feb. 2: at Tampa Bay
Feb. 3: at Florida
Feb. 5: at Montreal
Feb. 7: home vs. Toronto
Feb. 9: at Washington
Feb. 11: at Pittsburgh

Overall, that’s 14 away games and just five home contests, with a four-game road trip and a five-game road trip (that bleeds into seven away games in a span of eight). Things could get really messy if the Panthers and/or Devils are better next season, which is certainly at least a possibility.

Before their final game of the season against Tampa Bay on April 7 at home, they’ll also play four straight away games.

Easiest stretches

On the bright side, the deep valleys are canceled out at least to some degree by some nice runs at home, where they’re surely going to enjoy one of - if not the - best home ice advantages in the NHL.

After a rough October, November gets a little better with four home games in five.

If they want to make the playoffs, the Jets must take advantage of a month almost completely full of home cooking in December. It’s probably easiest to summarize this jaw-dropping run in bullet form.


  • Starting with their last game in November, the Jets will play five consecutive games at home followed by one road game against Detroit.
  • The Jets will then enjoy a six-game homestand after that single away game.
  • Following one visit to Colorado, they’ll finish December with home games against Los Angeles and Toronto.

That’s a whopping 13 home dates in a 15-game span that basically covers the month of December.

After that rough run from January to early February, the Jets get their next big chance (though it’s not as big as December’s run). Beginning on Feb. 17, the Jets will play eight games in a row in Winnipeg. They’ll then play back-to-back games in Western Canada (at Vancouver on March 8 then Calgary the next night). After that, the Jets will host three consecutive home games. That’s 11 out of 13 games at home, giving Winnipeg two major sets of opportunities to make a push for a surprising playoff berth.

Overall outlook

The Jets will deal with some challenges, but the schedule makers did a remarkable job of dealing them a reasonable hand all things considered. They don’t even travel more than every team in their division, as the road-weary Florida Panthers will attest. Dealing with 14 back-to-back games is more or less average across the NHL.

The basic theme is that the Jets have two very tough away runs and two very fortunate home swings. Whatever complaints they might have should be tempered by the friendly periods that counteract the hardships. Considering the situation, they shouldn’t complain at all.