It was a devastating way to open up the post season for the Winnipeg Jets and their fans, but the players say Wednesday’s game will fuel them for Friday.
The Jets held a lead through 40 minutes, but the visitors rallied in the third period, and Tyler Bozak scored with 2:05 left on the clock to give the St. Louis Blues a 2-1 victory over Winnipeg in Game 1 of the Western Conference opening-round playoff series.
Jets captain Blake Wheeler said they knew they we’re going to lose at some point this post-season.
“Who was the last team to go 16 and 0 in the playoffs?” Wheeler joked. “Has it ever happened? So we didn’t expect to do that.”
“The playoffs are so much about how you control your emotions. You win a game and all of a sudden you feel like you’re going to win the Stanley Cup. You lose a game and you feel like you have no chance.”
“Come with the right attitude tomorrow night and work our tails off,” Wheeler said, “We think that’s gonna be enough.”
The Jets know that adversity is going to come in the post season, and the team believes they know how to handle it the next time they step onto the ice.
“I don’t think we lose our confidence at all,” said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey. “You look at the way it went, both teams had posts, great saves, and I think that’s gonna be the way this series looks.”
Last post-season, the Jets never lost the first game of any of the three series they played. But, their coach feels they can lean on that adversity heading into game two.
“There’s a long list of Stanley Cup champions that got down two in a series that have come back,” said Jets Head Coach Paul Maurice.
“Handling that adversity is a story for every single team in the playoffs.”
The Jets and Blues meet in Game 2 Friday night at 8:30 p.m. at Bell MTS Place.
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