The Western Conference First Round between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues is about trending.
The Jets, who reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season, led the Central Division with 68 points on Feb. 1, but finished 14-14-3. They held onto second place by going 2-1-1 in a season-ending four-game road trip and a 45-42 advantage in regulation/overtime wins (ROW).
"It's going to be an absolute grinder, maybe even more so than last year, the way those wild-card teams ended up playing," said coach Paul Maurice, who guided the Jets to the Western Conference Final last season before a five-game loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Blues were last in the NHL (15-18-4) on Jan. 2 before winning 11 in a row from Jan. 23 to Feb. 19. St. Louis was 23-6-4 after Feb. 1, second to the Tampa Bay Lightning (25-5-2) in that stretch.
"Where we were and where we are now, those guys deserve a ton of credit for the turnaround," coach Craig Berube said. "They did a great job. Great leadership from our leaders. A lot of character in our dressing room, and it came through. ... We needed everybody, and everybody helped."