Officially Out

The Winnipeg Jets hopes for a miracle finish to their first season back in Winnipeg to get into the NHL playoffs have officially come to an end tonight as they fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in overtime.

Although the unthinkable happened elsewhere with the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs defeating the streaking Buffalo Sabres 4-3, which would have substantially helped the Jets, their fate was sealed with the Washington Capitals beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout.

Not to sound like I'm sucking on sour grapes, but the refs did no favours for the Jets tonight as they pretty much gave away the game to the Bolts with four straight power-plays, including two consecutive five-on-threes. Andrew Ladd was slashed by Victor Hedman (no call) and when he took exception and got into the face of Hedman, Ladd drew the extra two minutes and a 10-minute misconduct that ended his night when he and Hedman went to the sin bin for fighting. Before that fracas, Blake Wheeler was slashed and then cross-checked consecutively in the back and head with again no call by either official. That negated the rare power-play for the Jets at the time and the Lightning then scored on the ensuing power-play and momentum was on their side. Steven Stamkos, the NHL's leading scorer, then scored in the extra period to end it. The winning goal was the result of the linesman missing an icing call when the Lightning clearly shot the puck in from their side of center. Dustin Byfuglien seemed to think so as he played the puck as he would expecting a whistle and was upset with the nearest referee and plead his case after Stamkos scored.

Flight Plan

A closer look at the NHL's greatest fans.

OT Road Win in Raleigh

Since the Jets chances are so slim to overtake the Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NHL Eastern Conference (and if Buffalo wins just one more time, they will be officially eliminated) I won't even mention any wins would help them immensely, but a win is a win and they got one tonight as the Jets defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime tonight, winning the season series four games to two.

Captain Andrew Ladd scored the winner 16 seconds into overtime breaking a 17-game road goalless drought.

At 16:46 of the first period, it looked as though the Jets were in for another long night as Eric Staal out-hustled Tim Stapleton to notch a short-handed goal, just as the Jets gave up to the New York Rangers two nights ago. However, the Jets power-play went 1-3 as Kyle Wellwood scored the Jets only PP marker late in the third on a double minor to Canes Jiri Tlusty for high-sticking Evander Kane.
The goal set a new career-high for points for Wellwood, now with 46 (17 goals and 29 assists) on the season. He is now the fifth Jet this season to set a career-high marker. The others are Ondrej Pavelec for wins (28 so far), Evander Kane for goals and points (29 g 24 a 53 p so far), Tim Stapleton for goals (11 so far) and Jim Slater for goals (10 so far).

Chris Mason got a rare start in place of Pavelec and made several key saves to procure a rare road Jets victory. Zach Bogosian scored three points, all assists including the winner. Nik Antropov scored the opening goal, his first back since missing the last four games with an injury. It was his fourth goal in his last fourth game played.

Although the Jets controlled the opening tempo and scored first, they were outworked and outplayed by the Hurricanes in the first period. The second was pretty even, then Mason was brilliant in the third, staying cool and making multiple glove saves to stymie the Hurricanes forwards.

Four games left.

The Jettys

Here are your Winnipeg Jets 2011-2012 Achievement Awards, aka The Jettys.

Best Pass: Nik Antropov
Best Save: Ondrej Pavelec
Best Goal: Chris Thorburn

Still trying to find the videos to embed.
That is all.

Jets Lose to Rangers, Playoffs Only a Dream

So with last night's loss the the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers, the Winnipeg Jets hopes of a miraculous winning streak to keep their already slim to none playoff hopes alive are now dead in the water. Unbelievably, they are still "mathematically" still in the hunt for the eighth and final playoff spot, but, really, they're done. There will be no last game heroics in the vein of the 1988 New Jersey Devils that will allow them to steal the final spot in the hunt for Lord Stanley's mug in 2012.

The Rangers showed the 1oth-placed Jets exactly why they are one of this seasons elite teams, handing the home team a 6-4 loss in front of an uncharacteristically quiet MTS Centre crowd.

Slim But Still In

The chances of the Winnipeg Jets making it to the 2012 NHL playoffs are most definitely slim and none. But they are as of this writing still in...mathematically speaking. Of course they would have to go on a club-record seven-game winning streak (starting tonight against the conference-leading New York Rangers) and hope the Buffalo Sabres completely fall apart for the rest of their regular-season record, something that has as much chance of happening as the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the cup in our lifetime. Okay, maybe they have a better chance than that, but it's still pretty dire.

Jets Sign University of Maine Defenceman O'Neill

The Winnipeg Jets have signed 2006 draft pick Will O'Neill of the University of Maine Black Bears. He will report to the St. John's Ice Caps of the AHL.

The Best Home in Hockey

The Winnipeg Free Press's Gary Lawless shares his thoughts in a very good and inspiring column that shines the spotlight on the love and adoration of the Winnipeg Jets fans on the Jets first year, and evermore, back in Winnipeg. Winnipeg, the best home in the NHL, period.

Jets Season All But Gone with Loss to Senators

With tonight's 6-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators, the Winnipeg Jets 2011-12 season, one that saw plenty of excitement and one that was, although not the Cinderella campaign Jets fans were hoping for, may have been one to remember, but is all but over as the Jets remain in 10th place in the Eastern Conference still four points behind Washington and six points behind the eighth-place Buffalo Sabres with only six games remaining.

As for this game, it was billed as a game both teams drastically needed to win and both teams answered that call as it was end to end to the start. Both teams had plenty of chances to blow it open and both goalies answered the call. The Jets out shot the Sens 48-35 , a season-record for shots in one game for the club. Ottawa had the better scoring chances and if it wasn't for Ondjre Pavelec the results could have been much worse. However, Sens goaltender Craig Anderson wasn't exactly left to rot in his crease as he also had to be sharp.

Kyle Wellwood had a chance in the second period to take the lead for the Jets, which they never did have tonight, when he as awarded a penalty shot after being hooked and slashed when he was sent in alone on a feed from Andrew Ladd.
Once again, give-a-ways destroyed any chance the Jets had to create any momentum. And although they battled hard and had lots of shots and scoring chances and they didn't give up when Ottawa twice scored quickly in response to Jets goals (including the winning goal) they just couldn't match up with Ottawa's potent scoring punch.

Mathematically, the Jets are still in the hunt for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, as minute as a chance that they have, but now they really have to have other teams win games for them in hopes of slowing down the teams ahead of them. A nearly impossible task, especially since Buffalo and Washington play each other this week and the Jets host the NHL-leading New York Rangers on Wednesday. The next few games will tell if "mathematically" is just code for not a chance.



Coach Noel post-game press conference


Illegal Curve Post-game podcast

Jets Playoff Hopes Get Slimmer with Loss in Nashville

Even though the Jets seemed to be inspired by last night's come from behind victory in Washington, as they had a lot of jump in their game; it apparently wasn't enough as the Jets playoff hopes got more difficult tonight as they fell to the Nashville Predators 3-1 coupled with the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. They remain six points ahead of the Jets in the Eastern Conference and hold on to the seventh spot. The Capitals were idle tonight and stay four points ahead in eighth. It is painfully obvious that every game is a must win and help is needed now from other teams in the conference as it appears the Jets fate is no longer in their own hands.

NHL Eastern Conference standings

Jets Comeback to Win

For the second time this season, the Winnipeg Jets came from behind in the last few minutes of the game to tie the Washington Capitals, then win in extra time. This time it was by a score of 4-3 in overtime after trailing the Caps 3-0.

After Jason Chimera opened the scoring for the Capitals, Alexander Ovechkin scored back-to-back tallies and it looked like a long night ahead of the visiting Jets. But after the hard-working the fourth line of Tim Stapleton, Spencer Machacek and Ben Maxwell due to their hard work, Machachuk scored his first NHL goal and Stapleton notched the winner for his tenth after Maxwell got the Jets on the board in the second period. The Capitals only managed two shots on net in the third period.

This win, remarkably, marks the first time this season the Jets won after trailing the game after two periods. Before this night, their record on that matter was 0-22-3. This win was also another streak-bust of sorts, as Washington lost for the first time this season when leading after two periods.

The win keeps the Jets playoff hopes alive as they now trail this same Washington team by four points for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, although Buffalo defeated the conference-leading New York Rangers tonight and are still tied for for eighth with the Capitals with 82 points.

Oldtimer's Hockey Challenge

I just got back from watching the 23rd annual Oldtimers Hockey Challenge at the MTS Centre tonight (and due to living in Windsor, Ontario prior the arena's construction until Christmas last year and also because of Jets tickets being sold out, thus unavailable to poor schlubs like me) it was the first time I've actually been inside the home of the new Winnipeg Jets since it's completion in 2004 and BOY is it ever nice and a lot more modern (obviously) than the old Barn on Maroons Road. Not a bad seat in the house as they say.

As sort of..."disappointing" as it was for my first game to not be a Jets contest. It was still pretty cool to see former Jets Laurie Boschman, Dave Babych, Dave Ellett and Russ Romaniuk as well as Hall of Famers and Stanley Cup champions Brian Trottier (NY Islanders) and Theoren Fleury (Calgary).

Although the game was "incomplete," that is to say it was interrupted by such things as a sing-a-long (Fleury, Trottier and former Red Wings and Rangers forward Ron Duguay for some reason performed a rendition of John Denver's Rocky Mountain High) pictures with any rookie on the Patrolman team that scored-which the unsuspecting rookie would receive a pie-face and an amusing break in the action when the local Tim Horton pee-wee youngsters "took on" the NHL legends (a thrill of a lifetime to remember for the group of five-year-olds to deke the likes of Glenn Anderson and Trottier and score on Trevor Kidd. One quick little guy even did some impressive back-checking on Trottier. The Oldtimers also presented the Tim kids with a pretty cool miniature of the Stanley Cup-although a little disappointingly, the kids didn't get to parade around the rink with the trophy. In fact, they didn't even get to touch it too much, at least on-ice) all the while the official game-clock kept running. In fact most of the actual game action in the second period took all of about seven minutes.

The Oldtimers built up a lead of 10-1 by the end of the second and strangely enough the score reverted back to 0-0 to start the third. i guess the real "game" started then as the teams started to show their actual skill. As to be expected, it still wasn't enough for the Winnipeg Police Patrolmans team as the all-star Oldtimers seemed to score at will with precision passing especially by Fleury, Gary Leeman and Greg Adams. Fleury for his part, notched four goals in about 10 minutes. of course this wasn't to be taken seriously as it was all in the name of fun and entertainment and all the proceeds went to charity. Overall the night had the feel of the old "Schmockey Nights" from days gone by at the old Winnipeg Arena with Oilers great Glenn Anderson (who I still can't forgive for being an Oiler and help to annually lay a beating on the Jets during the eighties) having a puck on a string to sucker a Patrolman when "awarded" a penalty shot by former NHL referee and assistant host/play-by-play man Ron Hoggarth.

CTV sportscaster and Winnipeg's own Rod Black was the emcee as well as plating for the Oldtimer. He also engaged in the "Schmockey Night" festivities as he did a "slow-motion" breakaway with the old "magnetized-puck-on-a-stick routine. I actually fell for it and was quite impressed momentarily while he kept the puck on his stick while he twirled it a la Alex Ovechkin. But then when he let his stick drop to his side and the puck stayed attached to it, I realized that I had been duped and was indeed a dope for falling for it.

All in all, it was a good and entertaining family night out at the MTS Centre. A good time for $15.00.

Blown Out in Steeltown

The Winnipeg Jets did not help their chances in making the playoffs with their second straight loss in which every point is invaluable falling in a rout to the Pittsburgh Penguins 8-4. It's the second straight game against the Pens, who this time had Sidney Crosby back in the line-up form his season-long concussion injury, that the Jets allowed eight goals scored against them. It was also the second time in as many games Evgeny Malkin had a 5-point night scoring two goals and three assists. Crosby had four assists.

The Jets did have plenty of chances to bend the twine, but didn't have the high-end skill to match the Penguins finishing of their scoring chances. The Pens out shot the Jets 35-30.

The officiating was questionable as James Neal second goal at 1:15 of the third period was the result of Ondrej Pavelec being bumped in his crease with no call by either referee. Multiple trips and slashes by the Penguins also went uncalled. The Jets did manage a power-play goal on the one call that went their way, when Brian Little scored on a feed from Andrew Ladd on the first half of a double-minor high-sticking call to Malkin.

The Jets remain 10th in the Eastern Conference with another tough game on Friday against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals who remain four points up on Winnipeg and are sure to be primed to avenge last Friday's 3-2 loss at the MTS Centre. The Buffalo Sabres are also a impediment as they lead the Jets by two points are are playing well.



Claude Noel post-game press scrum

Jets Recall Ben Maxwell from IceCaps

The Winnipeg Jets have called up forward Ben Maxwell from the St. John's IceCaps from the AHL.

Let Down

After big wins against the Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals, there was talk that the Jets may fall into a trap of being too self-secured and have a "let down" game. With two unanswered goals in the third period, including the winner by Chad LaRose, the Jets allowed that "let down" game to happen, as they lost to the dangerously dormant Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 tonight at the MTS Centre. The Jets allowed 19 Carolina shots in the third to their own three. They started the third with a 3-2 lead.

It finally had to happen, but the Hurricanes ended the Jets home-winning streak at four, the first time this year the NHL's streak-busters of elite teams were on the other end of that feat. This was the Canes' third straight win.

Bogo Back, Fehr Out

Zach Bogosian is back in the line-up after healing from injury, while Eric Fehr is a scratch due to an "upper-body" injury. Spencer Machacek has been called up from the St. John's Icecaps.

"Cros-by's Bet-ter"

Winnipeg Jets fans let Alexander Ovechkin know who they think is the NHL's top superstar.

Jets Sign

The Winnipeg Jets have signed 2010 draft pick Julian Melchiori of the OHL's Oshawa Generals to a three-year entry-level contract.

Must Win Won

In a terrific game from start to finish that really did have a playoff atmosphere, the Winnipeg Jets outlasted the Washington Capitals 3-2 to jump one point over the Buffalo Sabres and to within two points of the Caps for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NHL's Eastern conference.

It was a team effort from Pavelec on out. Wheeler had another two-point night extending his streak to six games, Antropov chipped in with his second goal in the last two games and Dustin Bufuglien played mean and with purpose knotting the winner. Andrew Ladd opened the scoring with his 24th. Grant Clitsome was fantastic as he was assigned to check Alexander Ovechkin and succeeded as he kept the superstar off the point sheet. The sold-out crowd was obviously having fun as they got on Ovechkin with a chant of "Cros-by's bet-ter."

It has been a cliche since the start of March, but this really was a must-win for the Jets. Although mathematically not out of it with a loss, but if the Jets don't pick up those two points last night, stopping Washington from gaining another two in the process, this season would be pretty much a wash. So yes, they have to win pretty much 70 per cent of their 11 remaining games to grab onto the eighth spot while keeping the Caps, Panthers, Sabres and Lightning at bay. With some losses by the rest of the division, the Jets could go a possible 60 per cent to make the post-season.
The rest of the schedule doesn't get any better from here for the Jets. In the 11 games remaining, they have to play five teams that are ahead of them in the Eastern standings, including the now-Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at the Igloo and a date to come with the mighty New York Rangers at the MTS Centre. Another date with the Capitals and Panthers one more time each and two games against the Lightning and Hurricanes, round out the divisional games the Jets cannot afford to lose.

After the Carolina game this Sunday, the Jets have only three home games remaining. They have to win at least four of the last seven road games, along with some losses to the other teams (especially Washington) to have a realistic shot at the playoffs.



Coach Claude Noel's post-game press conference.

NHL, Players' Union to Battle Over Realignment

When the NHL Player's Association rejected a re-alignment plan that both the NHL owners and a heavy majority of fans embraced, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he would do what he could to have the players and owners come to an agreement. In Boca Raton, Florida this week where the NHL Board of Governors are meeting to discuss the re-alignment, as well as rule changes, Bettman is doing his best to persuade the NHLPA.

As the Winnipeg Free Press's Gary Lawless says in his column today, the Jets "have been caged in a geographic and competitive disadvantage will soon face the full scrutiny of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. His goal is to end it."

Streak Busters Strike Again

Make it four. For the fourth time in as many tries the Winnipeg Jets ended a hot streak of a team on a tear. On this night it was the very hot Pacific division-leading Dallas Stars being dropped by the Jets 5-2. The win stopped the Stars six-game winning streak and 9-0-1 record in their last 10. The win also upped the Jets record of defeating a team coming into the MTS Centre after playing a game the night before to 9-0-1. The story of the game was Eric Fehr, who scored in the second period after blocking a shot by the Stars' Adam Pardy and streaking out of his zone down the right wing, after he was inserted into the very popular GST line as a replacement for Chris Thorburn who is out of the line-up with a upper-body injury. It was only Fehr's second goal of the season but it turned out to be the game-winner and the appreciative Winnipeg crowd gave him a standing ovation as a result.

Jets captain Andrew Ladd knotted two goals, while Nik Antropov and Evander Kane rounded out the scoring with one apiece. Blake Wheeler continues his point-streak as although his goal-scoring streak ended at four games, he added two assists on the night.

The win puts the Jets four points back of the Washington Capitals for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference.



Coach Noel's post-game press conference.



Illegal Curve has their post-game podcast.

Jets Prepare for Stars

The Winnipeg Jets will put their two-game road losing streak to Vancouver and Calgary behind them tonight and focus on the Pacific division-leading Dallas Stars who are currently on a six-game winning streak, including back-to-back shutouts, and are 9-0-1 in their last 10.

GMs Meet for Possible Rule Changes

NHL GMs are meeting in Baco Raton, Florida this week and are discussing possible rule changes including re-instituting the red line, eliminating the hand-pass in the defensive zone and a hybrid-icing rule. They also are discussing more safety rules.

Chevy supports the hybrid-icing.

Thorburn Out for Three Weeks

Chris Thorburn will be out for three weeks after sustaining a lower body injury against the Calgary Flames.

Jets Uninspired in Loss to Flames

The Winnipeg Jets didn't look as though they were in the middle of a playoff hunt on Friday as they were out-played in every aspect for about 55 minutes, save for the dying minutes of the first period when they scored two goals to cut into a quick 3-0 lead by the Calgary Flames. The Jets looked deflated and ended up in a 5-3 loss at the Saddledome.

Lukowich: The Jets Return is Sentimental, Inspirational

Morris Lukowich who played with the Winnipeg Jets in both the WHA and NHL between 1978 and 1985 (and was my favourite player until Dale Hawerchuk came along) who had four 30-goal seasons, is sincerely happy that the Jets have returned to Winnipeg and will be at the Pengrowth Saddledome tonight to salute the Jets against the Flames.

Close, But No Cigar

A short-handed goal by Ryan Kessler was the death-knell for the Jets as they fell in a see-saw battle against the Vancouver Canucks 3-2. Ondjre Pavelec faced another faced another high number of shots, making 42 saves but couldn't see the absolute laser by Samuel Pahlsson that was the eventual winner. Blake Wheeler scored his third goal in as many games. Evander Kane had nine shots on net.
With the loss, coupled with an overtime win by the Washington Capitals against Tampa Bay, the Jets are now tied with the Caps, but because Washington has played one fewer game they take over the eighth playoff spot. However, first place in the South-East is still possible as the Florida Panthers fell 5-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Jets head back to the friendly confines of the MTS Centre after a stop in Calgary tomorrow against the Flames.

Budweiser Jets Fan Brew on Verge of Selling Out

Is there a lot of Budweiser drinkers in Winnipeg, or just rabid Bud-drinking Jets fans? Either way a spokesperson for Budweiser said the Winnipeg Jets Fan Brew is 90 per cent sold and expected to sell out by the end of the week.

What If the Jets Make the Playoffs...

Not to get ahead of myself and not to jinx the team's chances for the post-season, but if the Jets are fortunate enough to make the playoffs (please, please, please) imagine what the noise and excitement level at the MTS Centre would be like.

The Winnipeg Sun's Ted Wyman spoke with goaltender Chris Mason about that possibility and what the fans reaction and support would mean to the team.

Jets Stave Off Sabres for Eighth Place

The Winnipeg Jets did themselves a huge favour tonight playing an almost perfect game where they dominated, especially in the third period, to at least temporarily keep the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference all to themselves by defeating the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 in front of a loud and very involved crowd at the MTS Centre.

Ondrej Pavelec came up big when he had to, although his defence did a really admirable job for him on this night, where no one blueliner could be singled out for their solid play. Newcomer Grant Clitsome made an impression on the home crowd as he took the body, played intelligently and had multiple shots on goal when he pinched in from the point.

Bryan Little was the star of the game as he had a career-high three assists in one game. Blake Wheeler, with his breakaway goal, extended his consecutive game-point streak to 16 points in nine games. Captain Andrew Ladd's opening goal, his 21st, was the eighth time in nine games that the Jets have scored first on this, the final game of an eight-game home-stand.

And once again the Jets played the role of streak-busters as the Sabres had not lost in regulation in eight games, going 6-0-2 during that span. If you remember, the Jets also stopped the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins streak of not being defeated in regulation time in 15 games that stretched from Jan. 31 to Feb. 17. They defeated the Colorado Avalanche's eight-game home undefeated streak and five-game win streak on Dec. 27. And on Dec. 13 the Jets ended the Minnesota Wild's win streak of seven.
Coach Claude Noel's post-game press conference
and post-game podcast both courtesy of Illegal Curve.

Bogosian Back on the Injury List For a Week

Although his injury will be assessed before the game on Thursday against Vancouver, defenceman Zach Bogosian will out of action again for the next five to seven days.

Behold, the Brilliance of Ondrej Pavelec

Man, I hope Jets fans realize just how lucky we are to have him and I hope management locks this kid up to a looooong-term contract.

Jets Blow Out Panthers

The Winnipeg Jets finally did what I've said they've been needing to do all year to build some big time confidence-blow another team out of the water. They did exactly that as Evander Kane produced his sixth two-goal game of the season and Ondrej Pavelec earned his fourth shutout of the season as the Jets destroyed the South-East division-leading Florida Panthers, 7-0.

The Jets got off to a quick start with two goals in two minutes and two seconds into the first period. When the second rolled around, The Jets started to lose their edge and the Panthers had a lot of pressure in the Jets zone, but Pavelec stood tall as the score doesn't dictate the chances Florida had in the second period. But in the third the Jets scored two more quick ones, chasing Jose Theodore from the net and he was replaced by Scott Clemmensen who fared no better.

The win puts the Jets back all alone into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern conference and now just two points back of Florida for first place in the South-East division and third overall in the East.



Coach Noel's post-game press conference
And here is the post-game pod-cast from Illegal Curve.

Short But Sweet

A short clip of new Winnipeg Jet defenceman Grant Clitsome, who says that hearing upon his claim off of waivers was "awesome."