Well, maybe my last post commemorating the ol' flip of the bird by Dustin Byfuglien to Evander Kane may have been a little premature, as the Winnipeg Jets lose again in Buffalo to the Sabres by a score of 4-3.
It was actually a little disgusting as the Jets blew a 3-1 lead going into the third period, and allowed two goals by Marcus Foligno and Zemgus Girgensons just 26 seconds apart. Th first Sabres' goal scored by Ryan O'Reilly was scored late in the first period. Twenty-four seconds left in the frame to be exact.
The really bad news out of this fiasco? Patrik Laine was injured and will miss an unknown number of games as of this writing.
Good on Mark Scheifele who showed his leadership and went right after Sabres defensemen Jake McCabe who although hit Laine legally, wasn't about to get away with demolishing the Jets star player without retribution.
But, once again, the Winnipeg Jets play to the level of a team that is, allegedly, worse than them (that is if one were to check the standings) and then proceed to lose to said team. The Jets can play 60 minutes against the likes of the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, but for some odd reason, they can't seem to dominate non-playoff teams (such as themselves).
And yet again, the Jets fail to win three games in a row. And, they fail to make up any ground in the standings. The Jets are again under .500 with a record of 19-20-3. Two points out of the last wild-card spot and fading. The Jets failed all season to take advantage of teams like Vancouver, Dallas and Nashville trailing in the standings and collectively playing sub-par hockey.
The only bright side to this one is Nikolaj Ehlers scored to keep his streak alive. He has now scored in four straight games with five goals in that time-span.
I'm going to say it now, and I hope I'm wrong. But if there is a game during the season where it all falls apart and playoff hopes can be officially dashed. This is it. I say this with no malice. Frustration? Yes. But illogical? Hardly. If you can't get the points you need, especially against so-called "weaker" teams, you're done. I doubt if one will be able to go back once April hits and pinpoint this game as the one that dashed the Jets playoff hopes, but I am. This is the two points that the Jets let get away that will cost them. I'm sure it'll be more than two points, but this is where the 2017 playoff dream died for the Winnipeg Jets.
Here's some post-game interviews in case you're interested in the excuses:
