The Jets open a four-game road trip tonight in Music City with a visit to the Predators house of pain. For many this road trip which continues on to Anaheim, LA and San Jose is the first real 'prove it to me' situation for the upstart Jets, a team that sits alone in fourth place in the NHL with 27 points in 19 games for a .710 earned points percent.

The biggest question that surrounds the Jets is "can they keep this up?" The answer to that question depends on what you believe in regards to what best predicts the Jets's future success. Don't worry I'm not going there this time.

Here is the final points percentage for the 4th place team in the NHL the last 5 seasons.

2016-17 Columbus .658
2015-16 Pittsburgh .634
2014-15 St. Louis .664
2013-14 St. Louis .676
2012-13 Montreal .656

Right now the Jets are ahead of all those teams in terms of points earned. What did those team look like on November 20th or in the case of the 2012-13 season after 20 games?

2016-17 Columbus after 20 games: .650
2015-16 Pittsburgh after 20 games: .600
2014-15 St. Louis after 20 games: .675
2013-14 St. Louis after 20 games: .775
2012-13 Montreal after 20 games: .725

Basically some teams slowed down and some increased and one stayed almost the same. Is this a good measure? That's debatable but it is a something that the Jets could in theory look at and feel comfortable about historical success from where they sit now.

So I lied. I'm going to use a predictive stat(s) for each to see where they sat.

2016-17 Columbus CF% 50.3 PDO 101.44 after 20 games 49.59% PDO 101.4
2015-16 Pittsburgh CF% 50.14 PDO 101.21 after 20 games 48.33% PDO 99.69
2014-15 St. Louis CF% 51.74 PDO 100.49 after 20 games 52.52% PDO 101.21
2013-14 St. Louis CF% 53.15 PDO 100.8 after 20 games 55.28% PDO 102.32
2012-13 Montreal CF% 52.85 PDO 100.95 after 20 games 51.49% PDO 102.79

As you can see there are some mixed results looking back historically at where those teams were in terms of there possession and luck. What is clear is that they all finished in positive territory for possession and above the 'cut line' with PDO.

Here's where the Jets are after 19 games: CF% 46.11 and PDO 102.86

Again this is a measurement and simply an observation on where and how they are where they are. It's not conclusive but an indicator and it's fair to say that some who weigh stats higher have a right to be concerned.

Now this is why a four-game road trip can be a big indicator in how a team and it's fans see itself. If the wheels do come off the bus as some believe they inevitably will this trip seems as good a time as any for it to happen. Nashville, tonight's opponent, is right behind the Jets at 24 points. They are slowly adjusting to the acquisition of Kyle Turris and returning towards the team that was in the Stanley Cup final last spring.

While Anaheim and San Jose are underachieving a bit in comparison to last season they have more often than not had their way with the Jets over the years. LA has had a resurgence after the disappointing season of last, and are a team that could wreak havoc with the Jets.

That's until you factor in Connor Hellebuyck and what he is doing and perhaps the rest of the team. The game against the Devils on Sunday saw the Jets play a solid possession game after adjusting to the transition and attack the opposition employed. The game was probably their most complete effort of the year and they attacked the Devils with equal ferocity as the goals they scored came on three rushes and then two set ups, one behind the net and then over across the circles.

That same aggressive strategy should be something to use tonight and beyond and the optimist believes that the Jets can make an impact that way. Consider that last year's playoff darling the Ottawa Senators was sitting at a 48.28% CF after 19 games and a 97.85 PDO. They finished the season at 48.54% and a 99.6 PDO. They might have been a very unlikely to do what they did but it happened and for the same fluke chances of exceeding expectations the Jets could do the same thing.

Again though this road trip, with the disadvantages that come with travel and tough opposition, could go a long way to seeing if the Jets are solving some challenges or still riding something spectacular and unsustainable. If they come out with a .500 record at the end of it will anyone be upset? The change though is that given their recent results most fans are probably expecting 6 of 8 points and that's a big change from last season and before.

Ben Chiarot slots in for the injured Enstrom while Poolman after being called up will watch the game as will Steve Mason who will back up Hellebuyck again tonight.

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