Jets White Out
Fansided

The Winnipeg Jets Bow Out of the NHL Playoffs With a Whimper

By Kyle McCarthy

WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: Blake Wheeler #26 of the Winnipeg Jets shakes hands with David Perron #57 of the Vegas Golden Knights following a 2-1 Knights victory in Game Five of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Knights win the series 4-1. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: Blake Wheeler #26 of the Winnipeg Jets shakes hands with David Perron #57 of the Vegas Golden Knights following a 2-1 Knights victory in Game Five of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Knights win the series 4-1. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Winnipeg Jets wrapped up their best season in franchise history. Unfortunately, it was not the way they wanted to do it, bowing out to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.

The Winnipeg Jets started the off-season a bit earlier than we were all wanting. Full disclosure, I did not think Vegas would win that series. I, like everyone else it seems, has been underrating Vegas.

It’s hard not to if you don’t watch them often. Their brand of quick, disciplined hockey can fall through the cracks without a star-studded roster. But somehow they’ve overcome all odds and will be taking on either the Washington Capitals or the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Give me the Lightning all day. Who wants to watch the battle of the choke artists (Marc-Andre Fleury, Alex Ovechkin) in the Finals? I kid, I do. But seriously, if Ovie wins a Cup, I’ll retire.

I have nothing against him here, I just think the sport needs someone like that. Jeremy Roenick did it. Look how lovable Charles Barkley is? Both of them might be insufferable with championships. Also, we would never have Roenick crying and Mike Milbury prodding him.

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Look, we don’t need to get into all that. The Winnipeg Jets lost and the Vegas Golden Knights won. Congratulations to them and, especially, their front office and coaching staff. George McPhee and Gerard Gallant did an incredible job, and now they have the chance to finish it off.

The Winnipeg Jets season was a smashing success with a disappointing ending. But the best may be yet to come.

Yes, it was a shame to see it end this way. After defeating Nashville, I was almost certain the Jets would have what it takes to make it to the Finals. Quite possibly even win. Alas, it was not to be.  But maybe next season. The Winnipeg Jets will likely return the same core and with more grit and postseason knowledge.

I’m not certain why the Jets didn’t play well. They didn’t even have a lead in a game at any point after the first win. That’s…really bad. Vegas isn’t that good. They’re really good! They’re not that good.

Fatigue is certainly a possible factor, as most of these players were deeper into a season than they’d ever been. Vegas had solid rest periods after the first round and the second. They demolished their first two opponents and earned their layoffs.

A lot of the Winnipeg players are young kids. Patrik Laine is just twenty. They don’t play near 100 games in the U20’s in Finalnd. Incidentally, he didn’t play well this series. Specifically this game. Dude looked like he was skating in tar.

Connor Hellebuyck deserves a lot of blame for this loss, but he was good in Game Five. Also, he was great the entire season and postseason up until this point. He deserves a break. But hey, we’ll get into all this in due time.

Next: Mark Scheifele's Historic Postseason

The Winnipeg Jets just enjoyed their best season ever. Winnipeg fans should be happy, and I know I am. The best is yet to come, I know, but man….was this a bummer of an ending for these boys. Oh well, there’s always next year.

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