The NHL is a fickle business.
Just ask the Winnipeg Jets — and any of the other, better teams in the league this week that lost to teams fighting for the right to draft Connor Bedard.
Ask those top teams, like the Tampa Bay Lightning against Arizona or the Toronto Maple Leafs against Columbus.
And what makes it even more fickle for me, for the Jets, was comparing the team’s last two games: a shootout win vs. Seattle and the empty-net goal loss in Columbus.
For my money, I actually think Winnipeg played better Thursday night against the Blue Jackets than they did vs. the Kraken, and they have nothing to show for a superior effort.
The first period alone against Columbus should have been enough for the Jets to cruise to a victory, but great goaltending by Joonas Korpisalo and the team’s desire for the perfect play rather than just going to the net frustrated any chance of that.
(By the way, this is where you insert the audio of the crowd yelling “shoot it!”)
Oh sure, the power play is sputtering, but I truly believe this team continues to show the effort, even if it doesn’t show up on the scoreboard. But getting two points on a night where maybe it wasn’t deserved, and getting nothing on a night when they deserved better, tells you how tough this league really is.
Tough — and fickle.