And it sounds like the Death March, to be sure.
Did anyone really expect the Jets to handle the San Jose Sharks this afternoon?
Did anyone really think, with the way the Jets have been playing lately that Winnipeg had any chance of beating a club which currently sits comfortably in second place in the Pacific division (and ninth overall in the league) and boasts the talents of Brent Burns and Joe Thornton?
I didn't even plan on watching this one (at least as best I could at work-sneaking away to catch the score on tsn.ca) as I knew the eventual outcome. The fool that I am, after seeing the 4-0 score, I actually thought, "wouldn't it be cool if I checked back later and it was 5-4 Jets in overtime?" Silly rabbit.
I said earlier in the day, the Sharks would decimate the Jets 6-0. By the end of the first period, I thought it was going to be worse than that, seeing that the score was 4-0 for San Jose. I wasn't that far off, it turns out, as the Jets bowed down 5-2.
A strong performance by Sharks goalie, Marting Jones, along with a short-handed goal by Joel Ward, made the difference early. Mark Scheifele got his 20th of the season and Josh Morrisey scored his second.
It's not looking good. The Jets now sit in sixth in the wild card race, four points behind L.A. This has nothing to do with the absence of Patrik Laine. Sure, the Jets may have had a better chance in the last three games, but one man, nay, one kid, cannot carry a team on his back; especially an 18-year-old. He is a phenom, there's no doubt about that, but even he and his magic had been starting to wane. The Toronto Maple Leafs' Austen Matthews caught up to Laine for the rookie goal-scoring lead, and he will continue to add to that lead at least until Laine returns from his concussion symptoms. Until that time, the Jets must learn to win again.
They do it pretty good when they want to and they have been banged up for most of the season.
But, I've already tipped my hat. I know it's only mid-January and the Central division is probably the weakest this year, very surprisingly, but they're not going to pull it together this year. I don't know if it's the coaching, the player's not buying into his system, or too much youth (especially in net) or a combination of many things; they're done.
Consider that this Jets squad has to play at least .700 hockey for the rest of the way. So basically, they have to, at a minimum, go on a Columbus Blue Jackets-type run. Or at the very least, a Minnesota Wild streak of at least 12 consecutive wins, and then some for the rest of the season.
Ah well. Let's hope I am the most wrongiest person ever.
