Jets clinch last playoff spot in Western Conference

The Winnipeg Jets secured the final postseason spot in the Western Conference with a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.

The result eliminates the Nashville Predators from playoff contention. The Calgary Flames were eliminated after losing to the Preds in a shootout on Monday night.

It marks the first time since 2014 that the Predators have failed to make the postseason.

The Jets, meanwhile, are back in the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six years after missing out in 2022.

Winnipeg only needed one point to clinch. The victory came at a cost, though, as forward Nikolaj Ehlers left the game midway through the third period and didn't return after taking a big open-ice reverse hit from Ryan Hartman.

Hartman received a two-minute minor for interference on the play, and the rest of the game was extremely heated. First, Ryan Reaves body slammed Nino Niederreiter after a hit along the boards.

Neal Pionk was then handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking Marcus Johansson in the ribs.

Wild coach Dean Evason called Pionk's cross-check a "cheap" play, according to The Athletic's Joe Smith. Johansson didn't return to the ice after the play, but he didn't leave the bench, either. Evanson added that he hopes "it's not serious."

Later, Hartman and Brenden Dillon got into it.

And then Reaves and Adam Lowry dropped the gloves.

All told, there were 51 penalty minutes in the game - 39 of them coming from the Hartman hit on Ehlers and onward.

The Jets and Wild won't play in Round 1, but there's a chance they could meet in Round 2.