As the month of March comes to a close, so too do the hopes for the Winnipeg Jets’ 25-26 season. Thursday night’s loss to Colorado reflected so much of what has been positive for Winnipeg since the Olympic break. They played well enough to win for about 55 minutes. The first five minutes of the third period proved too much to overcome.
In the last 30 days — 16 games — this team has eight wins, four losses and four overtime or shootout losses. That’s 20 of a possible 32 points. Quite frankly, those are respectable numbers.
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But this late-season surge, grasping for a playoff spot, should not disguise a season that can only be described as unfulfilling. It’s too early to do a full autopsy on this Jets team, but this is just a little glimpse into the next six months of water cooler discussions.
Countless times this season we have been reminded that you can’t win a playoff spot during the regular season but you can certainly lose one. For this team, for this season, that playoff spot was lost in November and December, when the Jets went 7-16-4. They had 18 points in those 61 days of the season. By comparison, Thursday night’s opposition had 49 points. Forty-nine! Dallas had 43; Minnesota had 42.
Oh sure, you could point to the slow rehab of Cole Perfetti and Adam Lowry, and the surgery for Connor Hellebuyck, but if you do that, you are suggesting that this team, as constructed, might be good enough next season to compete in the tough Central Division. You are suggesting patience over change. You are suggesting that this season is an outlier.
Don’t be fooled: Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota set the bar in this division. It is a bar that is certainly high, but also young and fast. Ask yourself the question, are the Jets fast enough, and young enough to play next season’s 84-game schedule at the same level as the Avalanche, Stars and Wild?
Not to worry, we don’t need an answer right now. There will be plenty of off-season to discuss it.
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