Winnipeg Jets Playoff Tickets

It took the Jets a little while to find any success in the playoffs after they moved to Winnipeg in 2011. They reached the postseason for the first time in 2014, but they failed to win a game and were swept out of the first round by the Anaheim Ducks.

Things finally came together for the Jets in the 2017-18 season. Winnipeg finished the year with over 100 points for the first time, and the franchise (even including its time in Atlanta) finally won its first playoff game when the Jets defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in Winnipeg. The Jets lost just once in the series, and they moved on to second round for the first time.

The Jets drew a tough opponent in the second round: they faced the first-place Nashville Predators. The Predators represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 and many fans expected them to return to the Final in 2018. The Jets and Predators played one of the highest-scoring and most exciting series of the 2018 playoffs. It was the kind of series you hope goes the full seven games. Many fans (though maybe not Jets fans) got their wish when the Predators won Game 6 in Winnipeg and beat the Jets 4-0. Game 7 went back to Nashville, but Predators goalie Pekka Rinne wasn’t able to repeat his shutout performance. He let in two bad goals in the first period and was pulled from the game. The Jets went on to win 5-1 and advanced to their first Western Conference Final.

Winnipeg won Game 1 of the Western Conference Final in front of an energized home crowd (who, by now, had made the Winnipeg White Out an official playoff tradition). Unfortunately, the Jets’ momentum ran out after their Game 1 win, and they lost the next four games to the Vegas Golden Knights. But the Jets should be one of Canada’s most exciting teams for years to come.

NHL Playoff Format

The NHL is split into an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference. Both conferences are made up of two divisions. The Jets play in the Central Division of the Western Conference. The top three teams from each division automatically qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Both conferences also send two wild card teams to the playoffs. 16 teams--eight from both conferences--make the playoffs.

There are four rounds in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The winner of each round is decided by a best-of-seven series. The first two rounds of the playoffs pit division rivals against each other and give wild card teams a chance to pull off an upset.

Round 3 is the Conference Final. The winners of the Eastern Conference Final receive the Prince of Wales Trophy, and the winners of the Western Conference Final are awarded the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.

The winners of the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals face each other in the Stanley Cup Final.