I’m not sure how much fun that flight to southern California was for the Jets. After all, following Rick Bowness’ comments on Wednesday — both privately and publicly — one would expect there would be at least a few noses out of joint.
When coaches speak of veterans and motivation in the same sentence, it’s pretty obvious things are not “rosy” in Jets Nation.
And one would also expect — or maybe hope is a better word — the team would respond with more urgency, more emotion, more chutzpah.
Thursday night in Anaheim, you could see glimmers of what the coach wanted, but probably not enough through the 60 minutes in a rather uninspired game.
Did you notice those first two Jets goals? Simple goals: shoot the puck and pounce on the rebound. It was really nice to see.
But hold on — a win is a win, particularly in regulation, as the Flames continue to wallow, and the Predators work their way to another shootout win.
Yes, the passes could be crisper, the zone entries more effective, and if some players would just shoot the puck, as opposed to waiting for perfection, Jets fans might sleep better after these late-night games. And why couldn’t they show more urgency in the first two periods, like they did in the third?
Take the win in Anaheim, and build on it. But also know, this team can’t expect to play this way Saturday afternoon against the LA Kings, who might just be the best team in the West.