The Jets are an old man in a boat. They are clinging to that one big fish that could save them; even as their playoff life wanes, they hold on, desperate to bring in that last big fish. Even though the Jets were still alive, they were just clinging to that life line, hoping that it will bring them to shore and back to glory.
That didn't happen. The bell tolled for the Jets tonight and they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. It was a fine time for the Jets, but hopefully some of them will move on and new, younger faces will replace them.
I have changed the format, wanting to include updates about who has momentum curtesy of the excellent website ExtraSkater.
Momentum Update After 1: Winnipeg started with the momentum early but the Penguins quickly took it back. Towards the end of the period the Jets managed to wrestle the momentum back.
Momentum Update After 2: The Pens took the momentum back, lost it, and the began rolling with ALL THE MOMENTUM by middle of the second, only to give some back to the Jets near the end.
Momentum Update After 3: Jets started the third withe the momentum, but the Penguins won it back and never let it go. The end.
10 Thoughts:
1. Pavelec is good in the first. The lone goal against was partially because of some interesting penalty killing decisions. Can this continue into the second? He didn’t face many shots so he looked good until he remembered he was Ondrej Pavelec. Onto the third! And Pavelec is alive and well. The End
2. Can we talk about hitting? Hitting has a purpose in hockey, but that purpose is supposed to be about separating the man from the puck, not to knock them into oblivion. Even though the latter is more fun, it does nothing but lead to injuries.
3. Marc-Andre Fleury is doing his best impression of an Olympic swimmer and it seems like the career change is a bad idea.
4. Was that Redmond's first goal since he had that terrible skate incident?
5. Can we keep Redmond and Postma? I like them both. Keep Pardy as a number eight on the farm. Good stuff from Postma and Redmond.
6. How come it took O'Dell so long to get a legit shot? He has looked like a NHLer since he was given the chance.
7. Paul Maurice looks worse for wear. Quite a goose egg on his head; hopefully he isn't concussed.
8. Sidney Crosby is good at hockey. Ondrej Pavelec is not good at goaltending. These are both #HotTakes.
9. Why does Byfuglien only move back to defense at the end of the game when the Jets need a goal? He is a good defenseman and should play back there all the time.
10. Does Hutchinson get the start against the Leafs Saturday? Would it hurt the Jets if he did? Who knows because they have not tried an in game evaluation on him yet. Get evaluating Chevy, your coach is intrigued by his young goalie.
Bonus Thought:
Offensive defence men are a gift from the Hockey Gods. When you don’t use them all to the best of their abilities, the Hockey Gods spit on you. This is how I will #BlameBuff tonight. He was a great offensive defence man until he suddenly was not a defence man any more. Tobias Enstrom misses his buddy, and Trouba wants a better partner than Stuart. #FreeBuff
T-4 games now friends. Next up is the Waffle Capital of Canada: Toronto!
