Three Talking Points as the Winnipeg Jets Lose To the Senators 5-2

2. The Jets’ best players were not the team’s best players

Let’s start with the Jets players who played like last night’s game was crucial if the team expects to make the postseason – Nikolaj Ehlers. That’s pretty much it. If I’m being generous I’ll add Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck to this very shortlist.

In a must win game, against a team tied for second last in the Eastern Conference, the Jets’ top players were basically nonexistent. Nikolaj Ehlers tried valiantly to carry the top line with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler who looked like they were sleeping through the game.

Pierre Luc Dubois, Kyle Connor, and Evgeny Svechnikov seemed to forget about the hard forechecking, pressuring defensemen style that has been successful for them this season. The third and fourth lines provided nothing in terms of defense or offense. And the only defense pairing that provided any support to Hellebuyck was Josh Morrissey and Dylan DeMelo.

This team did not look like a playoff team at all last night, and more concerningly, looked like a team that may need to shake up the top end of the roster in the offseason.