More NHL expansion could be on the way. If it happens, the playoffs should expand as well.

American billionaire Dan Friedkin of The Friedkin Group, which owns soccer clubs AS Roma and a majority share of Everton, reportedly met with the NHL multiple times about a potential Houston franchise, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. This comes after past news about the interest in bringing a team back to the Atlanta area as well. That could bring the NHL up to 34 teams, with 17 in each conference, if interested owners in each city get their wish.

An offshoot of potential NHL expansion should be the Stanley Cup playoff format.

As it stands, half the NHL’s 32 teams make the playoffs. But if the NHL kept its 16-team structure after bringing on another expansion squad or two, that number would drop below the 50-percent mark. 

So, how could the league address its post-season in a 34-team setup?

From our perspective, there are a couple of options. The first would be along the lines of what the NBA does, which is assuring the top six teams in each conference of a playoff spot, with the top four teams in the wild-card race squaring off in a play-in tournament to decide the final two spots in the Eastern and Western Conferences. Another option could be a best-of-three series between the second- and third-place teams in the wild-card race for the second wild-card berth.

With the best-of-three-series option, 18 teams advance to the post-season – just over half – but only two teams in the East and West battle for the final spot in each conference’s quarterfinals. You’d have four teams fighting for two playoff spots in each conference with the NBA system. From this writer’s preference, an expanded NHL playoffs using the NBA format would be the right way to go, as there’s the potential for more upsets while keeping a thrilling end to the regular season.

The first and second teams in the wild-card race get two chances to advance anyway. They would face off, with the winner clinching the first wild-card spot. The loser takes on whoever wins in the No. 3 vs. No. 4 game for the second wild-card place.

If this wild-card play-in format happened this season, the potential matchups could have been full of drama. Ahead of Monday night’s games, the standings would have had the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens facing off in the East’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 game and the New York Rangers taking on the New York Islanders in the No. 3 vs. No. 4 match. In the West, the Minnesota Wild would battle the St. Louis Blues for the first wild-card spot, while the loser would take on the winner of a Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks contest for the second wild-card spot.

The NHL only introduced wild-card berths in 2013-14 as the league continued to evolve. If the league grows, it makes sense to continue to grow the playoff pool like what happened 45 years ago.

The NHL expanded to a 16-team playoff format in the 1979-80 season, when there were only 21 teams in the league. So this notion that there can’t be a majority of the league’s teams involved in the post-season flies in the face of the NHL’s history.

It's Clear NHL Expansion Isn't Ending Anytime Soon: 'I Don't Think We're Necessarily At That Ceiling'Unexplored markets — not a return to Canada — remain a focus when considering NHL expansion after Vegas and Seattle's successes spurred interest in other cities.

Ultimately, an expanded NHL playoffs is all about increasing the value of regular-season games, which would be true if the NHL adopted an NBA-style play-in system. In fact, all the teams that were in the wild-card race for most of the season but are running out of time would still have everything to fight for.

As of March 24, four teams trail the 10th-place Islanders by fewer than five points. In the West, the Utah Hockey Club is only one point behind the 10th-place Canucks, and the Minnesota Wild are only four points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the third spot in the Central Division – which would hypothetically make them safe from a play-in round. That means more teams are playing important games deeper into the regular season, and that’s what it’s all about.

If more NHL expansion ever happens, which would come with sky-high expansion fees, a revamped playoff system should come with it. Teams with the most regular-season success wouldn’t be affected by an increased playoff field, but games would matter more for more teams, and any way you look at it, that would be a success.

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Kick off a new week with rapid-fire NHL and hockey topics on The Wraparound.

Will Quinn Hughes Be The Best Vancouver Canucks Player Ever? by The Wraparoundundefined

Here's what Emma Lingan and Michael Augello discussed in this episode:

0:00: With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl hurt, could the Edmonton Oilers be overtaken by the Los Angeles Kings?

4:16: Is Houston the next best destination for NHL expansion?

9:11: Could Dalibor Dvorsky be an NHL regular with the St. Louis Blues next season?

11:40: Did Doug Armstrong make the right decision to keep this Blues team together?

15:22: How will Patrick Maroon be remembered in the NHL?

17:50: As Quinn Hughes continues to break records, will he go down as the best Vancouver Canucks player ever?

19:55: Will Rick Tocchet end up staying with the Canucks beyond this season?

23:10: Could Josh Leivo get a shot to return to the NHL?

25:33: Is Michael Misa guaranteed to be a top-three pick in this year’s NHL draft?

28:07: What’s the biggest reason why the Columbus Blue Jackets have been in a slump?

See below for where to subscribe to the show for future episodes.

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Spotify

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iHeartRadio

Amazon

The first round of the playoffs is not going to be a spring walk in the park for anyone in the NHL, regardless of where they finish in the regular season.

But you have to wonder how badly the top three teams in the Atlantic Division – the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning – actually want to finish first, given their recent play.

It's not that they've been terrible, but anytime they've had an opportunity to separate from the other two, they come up short. All three are projected to finish with at least 100 points, and the Atlantic could very well have five playoff participants, but unless somebody among the Panthers, Leafs or Lightning decides to go on a run, it will come down to the last day of the season.

Today's video column has more.

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Saturday’s busy 14-game NHL slate started off with a bang as the New York Rangers snapped a three-game losing skid with a 5-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden.

Both teams came in just below the playoff cut-line, and the matchup carried extra weight because it was J.T. Miller’s first game against his old team since he was traded back to the club that drafted him on Jan. 31.

After logging seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 20 games with the Rangers, Miller was all over the action on Saturday. The Rangers were badly outplayed during the first two periods, outshot 24-6. But after the Canucks opened the scoring on a first-period goal by Dakota Joshua, Miller helped his team draw even midway through the second, on the ice when Adam Fox tipped a point shot by Braden Schneider past Kevin Lankinen. 

Then, early in the third, he dug out the puck from the end boards and fed Jonny Brodzinski, putting the home side ahead for the first time in the game and sparking a frenetic third period that saw the Blueshirts outscore the Canucks 4-2. After Brodzinski broke a 3-3 tie with less than five minutes remaining, the dagger came off Miller’s stick, 176 feet into the empty net, with 17 seconds left on the clock.

Who else but JT Miller to ice the game against the Canucks! pic.twitter.com/DUDqs3DHVb

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) March 22, 2025

Shesterkin Shines

Miller earned third-star honors for the day, and Brodzinski’s two goals gave him the first-star award. But the Rangers wouldn’t have been in a position to mount their comeback without Igor Shesterkin. He held steady while under siege through the first 40 minutes, stopping 1.96 goals saved above expected in all situations according to Natural Stat Trick as Vancouver outshot New York 24-6.

The final shots were 39-12 for the Canucks, Vancouver’s highest shot total of the year. By himself, Quinn Hughes challenged the output of the entire Rangers team, with nine shots on goal to go along with four misses and two blocks. He finished with one assist, breaking the ankles of Matt Rempe before setting up Joshua’s opening goal.

Quinn Hughes putting Matt Rempe in the spin cycle will never get old 😆

🎥: Sportsnet | NHL#Canucks#NYRpic.twitter.com/kdH3BXqE5S

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 22, 2025

Pettersson, Hoglander Injured

The Canucks didn’t just lose the game on Saturday. They also lost two of their hottest offensive players — both Swedes, no less, on the first-ever ‘Hockey Day in Sweden.’

Elias Pettersson appeared to suffer an injury on a second-period face-off play against Vincent Trocheck. 

Bad news for the Canucks as Elias Pettersson has gone to the dressing room after an awkward play in the faceoff circle.

🎥: Sportsnet | NHL#Canucks#NYRpic.twitter.com/kRwrsXW9Pi

— CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) March 22, 2025

He returned for two short shifts but was ruled out for the third period. Hoglander’s last shift came late in the second.

Both players had been piling up the points of late. Pettersson had three goals and six assists in his last six games, and Hoglander had six points in his last five games. 

Canucks coach Rick Tocchet did not have an update on either player after the game but mentioned that a center may need to be recalled from AHL Abbotsford — which doesn’t bode well for Pettersson. 

After the Canucks opened their six-game road trip on Thursday with an overtime loss to one of the teams they’re battling for a playoff spot, the St. Louis Blues, they’ll continue on the road for another eight days — visiting New Jersey, Long Island and Columbus before finishing off in Winnipeg. 

Soucy, Mancini Tally Against Old Teams

Miller wasn’t the only traded player to chip in offensively on Saturday.

The Canucks also dealt defenseman Carson Soucy to the Rangers just before the trade deadline. He played 16:22 and finished at plus-one, with the second assist on Brodzinski’s game winner. 

On the Vancouver side, former Ranger Victor Mancini picked up the second assist on Drew O’Connor’s third-period goal, which tied the score 2-2. O’Connor was also an indirect acquisition from the Miller trade, acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the first-round draft pick that Vancouver received from New York.

Defenseman Marcus Pettersson also came to Vancouver as part of that deal. He had a quiet game, finishing at minus-1 in 20:10 of ice time. 

Filip Chytil, another former Ranger, did not play on Saturday. After putting up six points in his first 15 games with Vancouver, the 25-year-old missed his fourth game after suffering a concussion from a hit by Jason Dickinson of the Chicago Blackhawks one week ago.

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The NHL’s coaching carousel is spinning faster than ever, with multiple teams changing coaches – including the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues – during the current regular season. But the way things are shaping up, there are going to be more changes we should expect to see once this season is over. 

With that in mind, here are four coaches likely to part ways with their team this summer. In alphabetical order:

1. Andrew Brunette, Nashville Predators

The Predators have been one of the biggest disappointments this season, posting a 25-35-8 record that puts them in 14th place in the Western Conference. Consequently, the spotlight is squarely on Brunette, who has been on the job in Nashville since May of 2023. That may not sound like a long time for a coach to leave their mark, but if Preds GM Barry Trotz isn’t going to make material changes to his team’s roster, the thing he can change is his coach.

It’s certainly not solely Brunette’s fault that Nashville is where they are in the standings. However, the Predators may opt for a new voice behind the bench. And that would leave Brunette looking for work after this season concludes.

2. Lindy Ruff, Buffalo Sabres

Many eyebrows were raised when greybeard veteran Ruff was hired for his second tour of coaching duty in Buffalo last April. But the Sabres have been unable to improve in Ruff’s latest tenure, generating the Eastern Conference’s worst record at 27-35-6. The 65-year-old Ruff may see his tenure come to an end this coming off-season – especially if the Sabres dismiss GM Kevyn Adams at season’s end. A new GM will want their own coach in place, so Buffalo could be looking for a new bench boss very soon.

Ruff’s near-lifelong connection to the Sabres hasn’t translated into many wins this year, and in the zero-sum business of NHL coaching, that’s all that really matters. Buffalo has to chart a different course as soon as possible, and that’s why we believe Ruff will be sent packing in favor of a younger coach with a different vision for this constantly-changing Sabres roster.

3. Joe Sacco, Boston Bruins

The Bruins were accustomed to performing well in recent years, which is why their sub-par performance this season is such a downer for Boston fans. Jim Montgomery was fired in mid-November, and Sacco was inserted as an interim replacement for him. But that hasn’t done much good at all, and we don’t see Sacco staying on the job once this year comes to an end.

Who will replace Sacco? Well, we see another coach currently employed by another Eastern Conference team – Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan, who we’ll discuss below – being the choice in Beantown as the Bruins attempt to retool on the fly. Hiring Sullivan for his second stint as Boston’s coach would give the Bs the structure and discipline they’re in dire need of. Sometimes a return to a familiar face makes sense for a team, and that’s where we think the Bruins will be at with Sullivan if and when he becomes a coaching free agent.

4. Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins

Sullivan has been Pittsburgh’s coach since December 2015, and he’s led them to two Stanley Cup championships, giving him a lot of leeway in the nine years he’s been on the job with the Penguins. But every coach eventually reaches his "best before" date, and considering that Sullivan’s Pens have failed to make the playoffs for this season and the previous two seasons, the Penguins need a change behind the bench.

Only Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper – another multi-time Cup winner – has more current tenure than Sullivan, and we expect Sullivan would quickly be picked up by another team once the Penguins let him go. But the Penguins need a different voice now, and it’s time for both Sullivan and the Pens to mutually agree to part ways. All good things eventually come to an end, and it’s high time for the Penguins to move on from Sullivan.

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The Winnipeg Jets have been one of the most impressive NHL teams in the 2024-25 regular season. Currently, they’re the Western Conference’s best team – and the second-best team in the league – with a record of 48-18-4. But there’s a nagging element to the Jets – and that’s their sub-par Stanley Cup playoff performances in recent memory. Since 2018-19,  Winnipeg has won exactly one playoff round, and they have yet to win a single second-round series game in that span.

It should be clear, then, that there are skeptics with legitimate cause for concern that the Jets will be able to change that in the upcoming playoffs. Winnipeg is probably going to get a showdown against the second and final wild-card team in Round One, but they haven’t been perfect against any of their likely first-round opponents.

For instance: the Jets are 2-1-0 against St. Louis this season, with one of their two wins coming in a shootout. Winnipeg is 1-1-0 against the Vancouver Canucks this year, 2-1-0 against the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg is 2-1-0 against Utah. Clearly, the Jets have been a mortal group, and that could spell doom for them in the opening round.

But here’s the bigger problem with Winnipeg’s playoff aspirations this spring – in the second round, they’re almost certainly going to be pitted against the mighty Dallas Stars or Colorado Avalanche. The Jets are 2-1-0 against Dallas this season, and they’re 3-1-0 against the Avalanche – although one of those wins against the Avs was a 1-0 shutout on Nov. 7, and another win against Colorado came in a 3-2 overtime win.

But forget about the Jets’ regular-season record against Central Division teams. Instead, just bear in mind the fact that both Dallas and Colorado have made major roster improvements since their early-season games against Winnipeg. If the playoff series against the Stars or Avalanche began right now, do you think the Jets would be a heavy favorite to win it? Or any kind of favorite, for that matter? No, we’re betting Winnipeg would be an underdog against Dallas or Colorado. And that’s because their performance in the post-season with their same core of talent simply hasn’t been up to snuff. 

This isn’t to say the Jets absolutely aren’t going to shake off the demons of the past and figure out a way to go on a deep playoff run. Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff doubled down on his roster last summer, and at this year’s NHL trade deadline, he added only a bottom-six forward in Brandon Tanev and a third-pairing defenseman in Luke Schenn. And we agreed with Cheveldayoff’s minor tinkering; the Jets have been so dominant that they didn’t need drastic changes to the lineup.

Still, that nagging element is going to be there with Winnipeg until they show they’re a different group than the disappointing team that was flushed out with ease in recent years. Remember, in the past two post-seasons, the Jets couldn’t even put up an admirable fight in the first round, winning just one game against Vegas two years ago, and winning only a single game last year against Colorado. Winnipeg’s defeats were quick and painful, and we’re still unsure whether anything is going to be different in that regard this time around.

Being an excellent regular-season team has its benefits. The Jets are going to have home-ice advantage as long as they’re alive in the Western Conference playoffs. And Winnipeg’s 25–5-4 home record will be something to draw on as the Jets try to get at least as far as the Western Conference final. Nevertheless, Winnipeg could once again falter early on in this year’s playoffs. And if they do, Cheveldayoff will no longer have any reason to keep coming back with the same core year after year. And massive changes will be in order if they let down their fans yet again.

It’s the Western Conference final or bust for this Jets team. They’re either going to make people forget about their sub-par past or underscore it as they fizzle out and the biggest fears of their fan base and management become reality.

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Patrick Maroon made an announcement that he will retire at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Chicago Blackhawks left winger said this ahead of their game against the St. Louis Blues.

An emotional Pat Maroon tells @Panger40 before his final game in St. Louis that he will retire at the end of the season. #Blackhawkspic.twitter.com/hmrJDAjD1f

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) March 22, 2025

He got emotional in a pre-game interview with Darren Pang when he made this statement. This is also his last game in his hometown of St. Louis.

“I just know it’s time for me, it’s time for my family to go start a new chapter in our lives,” Maroon said.

Maroon was drafted in 2007 by the Philadelphia Flyers 161st overall in the sixth round, but after a few seasons in the OHL and AHL, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks.  Since then, he’s played in nearly 14 seasons.

Chicago’s clash against St. Louis is Maroon's 840th game of his NHL career. In that time, he’s scored 125 goals and 320 points. The left winger played for eight different teams in his career, including the Blues.

This season, he’s made 59 appearances for the Blackhawks and has four goals and 16 points. The grinder also has seven fights this season, his last one came in Tuesday's game against the Seattle Kraken in a tilt with John Hayden. According to HockeyFights, Maroon has 138 fights in his career.

Maroon is seventh among active skaters in penalty minutes, and over the course of his 14-year career, he’s racked up 1,071 total.

The 36-year-old veteran won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in the single season that he played with them in 2018-19. Following that season, Maroon secured another two championships with the Tampa Bay Lightning, completing a three-peat.

In his career, Maroon has featured in 163 playoff games, scoring 23 goals and 53 points, while also having a plus-six rating. He’s played playoff games for the Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Blues, Lightning and Boston Bruins. 

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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman indicated at the conclusion of the GM meetings in Florida on Wednesday that the league is reevaluating the format of the 2026 All-Star Game at UBS Arena next February, which will be just prior to the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. Bettman did not specify what exactly the league has in mind in terms of changes, but here are three possible options:

Gary Bettman not committing to classic #NHL All-Star game for next year. Says the Islanders will get “an event.” But what that is, he won’t be “pinned down” on yet.

4 Nations raised the bar on what the league wants for its signature showcases.

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) March 19, 2025

Expanded Skills Competition 

One undeniable fact that resulted from the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off was how injuries that occurred in the tournament (such as the loss of Charlie McAvoy, Shea Theodore and Matthew Tkachuk) affected NHL clubs after the break. With the likelihood of two weeks of hard-fought competition in Italy, the league may want to minimize the workload and risk of injury in the All-Star Game. One way that they could do that – while increasing the entertainment value of the weekend – is to eliminate the game altogether and expand the number of events in the skills competition, which fans seem to find more interesting than a no-contact game of shinny. 

Teams Based On Nationality, Not Division

The game in recent years has been a round-robin of teams made up by division. With all eyes looking forward to the Olympics, the NHL should want to take advantage of that and have teams made up of individual countries. In this instance, you could have as many as eight separate squads (Canada, United States, Finland, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany) playing in a skills competition or round-robin.   

Teams Based On Age Range

The most exciting team at the 2016 World Cup was Team North America, made up of players aged 23 or younger. Squads could be assembled by age range, 18-24, 25-31, and 32 and older, which would allow youngsters like Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini to participate since the odds of them making Team Canada are slim. The All-Star Game may be the only opportunity for Alex Ovechkin to play, since Russia will likely be prevented from participating due to the IIHF ban.

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The NHL’s Eastern Conference race for the final wild-card berth is coming down to a select few teams, and two of those teams are headed in different directions: the New York Rangers, who have lost their last three games and are 3-5-2 in their past 10 games, and their arch-rivals, the New York Islanders, who have won three straight games and are 6-3-1 in their past 10 games. The Rangers look to be out of gas as they attempt to edge out the Montreal Canadiens for the final wild-card spot. At the same time, the Islanders are one spot closer to ousting the Canadiens, sitting an identical two points behind Montreal but with a superior point percentage to the Rangers.

Not all the news is good news in the Isles’ favor. As per Tankathon, the Islanders have the fifth-toughest remaining schedule, while the Rangers have the 14th-toughest schedule. But it’s the way the Rangers have lost of late that is so disheartening for Blueshirts fans. The Rangers have generated just five goals in their past three losses to Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto, and their loss to the Maple Leafs came on the second night of a back-to-back series of games for the Leafs. The Rangers were rested and in their home building against Toronto, but they came out flat and unable to take advantage of the Leafs. And while they’re only two points behind Montreal, the Rangers don’t look like a team that believes in itself right now.

The Islanders, on the other hand, have beaten the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Canadiens in their current win streak. And the Isles have scored four goals in each of their past three wins – a good harbinger of what they’re capable of as they try to sneak into the playoffs for the second-straight season.

There are others still in the race for the final wild-card spot, but like the Rangers, they’re all struggling to be at their best currently. The Columbus Blue Jackets are 2-7-1 in their past 10 games, the Detroit Red Wings are 2-8-0 and the Boston Bruins are 3-6-1. None of those teams look like they’re hungry enough and focused enough to rise through the ranks and land the last wild-card berth. And that’s why it could prove to come down to the Rangers and Islanders.

The NHL’s schedule-maker has set the table for what could be a season-defining game between the Rangers and Isles. On April 10, the Islanders and Rangers square off against each other at UBS Arena – and considering the Isles have a 0-3-0 record this season against the Rangers, you’d think the Rangers would have the psychological advantage heading into that game. But if the Rangers continue to falter in the games leading up to that final showdown, that game may not matter.

In any case, the wild-card race could come down to the final week of the regular season. And while it could be a case of someone – maybe the Islanders or Rangers – backing into a wild-card berth, there could be a team that seizes the opportunity now before them and finds a way to thrive the rest of the way this season en route to a playoff spot.

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On Thursday night, Connor Hellebuyck became the first NHL goalie to reach 40 wins in the 2024-25 NHL season when the Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers in overtime.

It’s the second time in his career that the 31-year-old has reached that plateau, and it’s quite a feat. The only other active netminder with multiple 40-win seasons is Marc-Andre Fleury, whose career has been 11 years longer. 

One other challenger could also get to 40 this season: the goalie who was also drafted 111 picks ahead of Hellebuyck in 2012, Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Tampa Bay Lightning have 14 games remaining, and Vasilveskiy currently sits at 33 wins. 

Look back at the last decade, and Vasilevskiy is the only goalie whose body of work comes close to touching Hellebuyck’s. He won 44 games in 2017-18 and hit 39 in two other seasons, and their career performances have been almost identical. Both have save percentages of .917, and while Vasilevskiy’s career goals-against average is 2.53, Hellebuyck’s is just a few ticks higher, at 2.57.

When it comes to Vezina voting, Hellebuyck holds the edge. He already has two wins under his belt, from 2020 and from last season, when he collected 31 of 32 first-place votes from the league’s GMs. As well as his strong lead in the win category, which the GMs value highly, Hellebuyck is also first with his .924 save percentage, which ties his career high, along with his career-best 2.06 GAA and his 34.4 goals saved above expected per moneypuck.com. 

Washington’s Logan Thompson is the only other stopper over 30 GSAE, and Hellebuyck nearly doubles Vasilevskiy’s 18.1.

Hellebuyck and Sergei Bobrovsky are the only active goalies with two Vezina wins. If the voters reward Hellebuyck again this spring as expected, he’ll be just the 13th goalie in NHL history to win three times and the first to collect back-to-back awards since Martin Brodeur did it in 2007 and 2008.

But there’s one notable achievement missing from Hellebuyck’s resume: a Stanley Cup. 

To date, his best playoff run was his first. In 2018, the Jets bested the Nashville Predators in a seven-game second-round slugfest before losing to Fleury and the first-year Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final. 

After last year’s chaotic first-round loss to the Colorado Avalanche, the Jets look like they’ve done everything right in preparing to erase that memory. Thursday’s win in Edmonton got them to 100 points for the second-straight year, and they’re on their way to clinching their first division title since returning to Winnipeg and the first conference championship in the history of the Jets/Thrashers franchise.

That positioning will protect them from a first-round matchup against one of the Central’s other strong contenders. Instead, they’ll meet whichever bubble team ultimately snags the second wild card in the West. 

Having home-ice advantage for at least three rounds should also pay big dividends. The Jets’ record of 25-5-4 at Canada Life Centre is one of the best in the NHL, and that’s also where Hellebuyck has played his best hockey. He’s 22-3-3 on home ice this year, with a save percentage of .934 and a 1.74 GAA.

While most NHL players were re-charging their batteries in February, Hellebuyck was logging some of the most intense minutes of his career with Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. And while there’s always a risk attached when top teams shift into cruise control in an attempt to rest up for the playoffs, the Jets are comfortable enough that they don’t need Hellebuyck to stand on his head over the next four weeks. 

Right now, he’s near the top of the list of total minutes played — as usual. But the Jets are one of nine teams that have already completed 70 games.

And while Eric Comrie’s record is a moderate 8-8-1, he has delivered quality minutes, with a .914 save percentage, 2.39 GAA, and 2.4 GSAE.

Other than a 10-minute pull by the concussion spotter in Seattle last weekend, Comrie has delivered complete games in all his other starts this year — helping to keep Winnipeg’s rotation stable and predictable, which Hellebuyck appreciates.

“The way that I usually handle it is telling the other guy, ‘You’re not coming out, no matter what,’ ” he said. “Make him feel good, that no matter what’s gonna happen, he’s in.”

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