The stove is hot in Winnipeg right now but no one really knows who is on the hot seat. Is it a player(s) a coach, or the GM, or is no one within the organization feeling the heat being delivered from the fans?
Tonight in Winnipeg the Jets laid another egg, just two days after the egg they laid on #tracksuitnight when Evander Kane returned to Winnipeg since being traded. The fan reaction on Twitter is fierce as most are trying to make sense of what they are seeing. What they are seeing, for those who don't regularly watch the Jets, is an undisciplined, unorganized, and lethargic group of players go through the motions on the ice with little care for the task at hand.
Buffalo was the 29th worst team in the NHL on a six game losing streak. San Jose played last night in Calgary but the Jets could not muster or even match the energy of the fans on Sunday nor the opposition on Tuesday. It's a recurring problem that seems to be recurring far too often for the coach's liking and the fans.
But tonight the problems were energy, speed and penalties- the toppers being the ones by Myers in the third for cross checking and Wheeler for tripping the goalie.
Myers was took a hit on the end boards before turning around with his tall frame and delivering a retaliatory cross check on Tommy Wingels. It was hard and potentially dangerous but was it anything worse that what regularly gets missed? Before I 'm accused of defending it I'm not, I'm trying to challenge the penalty severity not the action. It was a dumb thing to do in a one-goal game late in the third period. How dumb you ask? 5 minutes and a 10 minute misconduct dumb.
The Jets did do an admirable job of dealing with the 5 minute major and even score a shorthanded goal, or so they thought until Blake Wheeler was called for tripping.
Sure there could be a call as goalie interference but did Pavelski not play a roll in Stalock's stability? It sure looks that way. Furthermore, if the Refs were ready to send a message why not send one to Stalock in the process for what looks to be an obvious dive? But that takes 10 days and only a $2000 fine. Wheeler's response after the game was "yeah I got a penalty for a horses*t play".
But this is the minutiae of the game. Blame the refs for dubious judgement- that's a fair conversation but don't blame them for the game. The Jets did that all on their own as they have done too many times this season by taking dumb unnecessary penalties. It's a deeply rooted systemic problem and one that head coach Paul Maurice seems to admit.
His comments after the game were subdued yet pointed in what may have been a lost chance. First he calmly mentioned over and over again that the team needs to be aware that 'it's not going to get any easier' as if they are waiting for something good to happen instead of making good things happen.
That's the part that seems fair to say but why not say more? Why not bring the issues, ones that fans and media alike both see, forward so that no one can hide from them? Maurice has a tough situation as he is loathe to throw anyone under the bus but he's got to exorcise the demons that seem to haunt this team and whatever he is doing is not working.
So what can he do? Simply call it like it is with his group and say a bit more than 'it's not good enough' or 'we've got to get quicker, get the legs moving'. He has to make it clear that whatever the problems are the players have to own it, if that's the case, but also they can't be shielded by him. He has to protect and manage but is this one of those times? Perhaps calling out players is too much but allowing them some level of protection is probably not helping either at least as it comes to fixing the problems and that comes down to accountability.
Ask any Jets fan right now about accountability within the team and where is lies, it's a mystery. It lies somewhere but you'd be hard pressed to find it. Maybe that's why more and more tickets keep coming available for games- some one's got to be accountable for this regression to less than mediocre play and no one is stepping up. Maybe leadership is an issue deeper within the organization than just the locker room because it doesn't look like anyone really wants to change anything with the team.
Maybe that changes now that sell outs aren't guaranteed.