If the 2012-2013 Winnipeg Jets' road record is anything like last year, then this year's group might want to start making reservations for tee time. Yes, only a quarter of the shortened 2012-2013 season has come and gone, but if the Jets road record continues to be like it was last year; the boys in double blue are in big trouble.
It seems the magic of playing in front of their home-town fans at the MTS Centre may have faded. And not just a little. At no time last season did the Jets lose four straight hockey games at home. If they did, with the honeymoon going on over the return of the team after a 15-year absence, they would have been forgiven. But that honeymoon is over and the hockey fans of Winnipeg now expect, nay, demand results. That's not to say most fans in Winnipeg don't have patience. They have it in spades (how long would you wait for the NHL to return to your city?)
But with the exception of the first home game against Pittsburgh, the first game against the Capitals in Washington and the last two home games against Pittsburgh and Boston, the Jets haven't earned the fans respect of being a team that works hard. Maybe the remnants of last season's GST line, Mark Stuart and Chris Thorburn have, but that's about it. Coach Claude Noel agreed with that sentiment when he told the Winnipeg media that he "[doesn't] like the way we play." A result of that is a current stay in the NHL basement along with the Washington Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets.
So if the Jets are hard-pressed for goals and/or victories inside the friendly confines of the MTS Centre with a road record that has minimally improved since last season, what hope to they have of cinching a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference? Again, it's only 25 percent of the season gone and of course they can still turn it around and salvage maybe even more than just a playoff appearance, but they better start playing desperate and hard like they have in the last two games against the Penguins and Bruins, because eventually if they continue that kind of rugged play the bounced will go their way. If not, they may as well start planning for next season. It's something the team is reportedly trying to remedy.
