In one of the more shocking predictions of the upcoming playoffs, former Jets coach Rick Bowness believes Winnipeg is going to the finals and facing the Senators. March has just ended, and the battle for the playoff position is coming to a boil around the NHL. <a href='https://www.nhl.com/standings/2025-04-01/wildcard' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>All seven Canadian teams remain in the mix</a>, although a tough week dealt a severe blow to the chances of a couple of them. The Winnipeg Jets have been dominating as of late, going 3-0-0 in the previous week, with a four-point gap over the red-hot <a href='https://www.nhl.com/stars/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Dallas Stars</a> atop the Central Division. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NHLJets/status/1906708413759004964'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> Connor Hellebuyck, who's a solid Vezina Trophy candidate, became the third netminder since the year 2000 to register more than a single 43-win season. While the Jets lead the NHL in points and goal differential, they are 12th in expected goal differential, which the team hopes doesn't cause issues come playoff time. Meanwhile, the <a href='https://www.nhl.com/senators/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Ottawa Senators</a> had a strong 2-1-1 stretch in their last four games. <a href='https://moneypuck.com/predictions.htm' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>At 99.5% in MoneyPuck's projections to make the playoffs</a>, they've more or less clinched a playoff spot. If it stands, Ottawa should have Toronto waiting in a highly promoted Battle of Ontario. <h3>The Senators are one of the hottest teams in the NHL since March 1st</h3> The Sens have settled in under Travis Green, posting a 10-3-1 mark in March, and are going to be a hard team to eliminate from the playoffs, no matter who they match up against. The biggest shock of the week came from old Jets bench coach Rick Bowness, who went out on a limb to predict a Winnipeg-Ottawa Stanley Cup Final, something that didn't occur to many people when the season started. I'll go with Ottawa and Winnipeg in the finals. - Rick Bowness <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/ComingInHotSens/status/1907094827151299019'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> Both teams have shown flashes of elite-level performance, but it would take a really magical playoff run for this Canada-Canada final to happen. However, with the way the Jets and Senators have been playing of late, Bowness' prediction might not be more far-fetched than it sounds. Canada's Stanley Cup drought may finally come to an end, just not with the teams fans would have initially expected at the start of the season, cough, cough, the <a href='https://www.nhl.com/oilers/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Edmonton Oilers</a>.