No time for what might have been as Jets look to regroup in final stretch

WINNIPEG — It was the morning after a disappointing loss and the Winnipeg Jets were left to pick up the pieces and collect their respective thoughts.

A highly-optional skate was held and the probing questions bounced between the missed chance against the Calgary Flames and the incoming challenge in the form of the Nashville Predators.

Whether or not the Jets find themselves in the land of opportunity or on the road to ruin, quite frankly, remains to be seen.

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It’s impossible to ignore the fact the Jets failed to deliver a knockout blow to the Calgary Flames’ playoff hopes on Wednesday night. The 3-1 defeat left the two teams tied in the Western Conference standings with 89 points.

Yes, the Jets are still in control of the spot thanks to a game in hand, but that tilt will be played against the red-hot Colorado Avalanche, a team with a lot still on the line. They’re locked into a battle for the top spot in the Central Division with the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars and also remain in contention for first overall in the West.

Whether or not the final game of the regular season for the Jets turns into a true must-win scenario or not is a question for another day.

For the time being, the Jets are looking for a way to regroup and pick themselves off the mat in a similar manner to how the Flames overcame what could have been a crushing loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

“That was a perfect example,” said Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon. “Tough schedule, excuses, whatever it could be, Calgary came in here and played a great game. For us, too, we’ve got to take the good from what we did, take the negatives and kind of just learn from it overall. In a seven-game playoff series, you can win a game 10-0 but it’s only worth one game.

“Nashville is fighting for their lives, so it’s going to be another great example of playoff-type hockey. Tight checking, low-scoring and for us, it’s going to be a good lesson we can learn.”

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While it’s easy – and natural – to focus on the past, the Jets can’t waste any time wondering about what might have been had they not stumbled during the stretch.

Points left to gain are much more important than points lost at this stage of the proceedings.

“Honestly, it’s the most exciting part of the year,” said Jets forward Nino Niederreiter. “You play 82 games and you want to get into the playoffs. Now we put ourselves in a position where we still can control our own destiny. Which is fun. But we know what’s at stake. Obviously, the loss (Wednesday) night made things a little harder than they’re supposed to be. But we definitely embrace the challenges.”

A victory over the Flames would have minimized the importance of scoreboard-watching for the Jets.

Now they’ll have to be cognizant of what’s happening with both the Flames and the Predators – who go head-to-head on Monday night in another game with massive implications on the final seed. 

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“No, you look at the standings, you look around the league at what the scores are, but we can control our own destiny,” said Niederreiter, when asked if the tightness of the race makes it a stressful situation. “I think that’s what matters the most.”

Niederreiter is quite familiar with Saturday’s opponent, as he was a member of that team before the choice was made by the organization to be a seller at the NHL trade deadline.

For all of the chatter about the Predators being an underdog or a longshot, they’ve continued to stay in the race and could pull within a single point of the Jets with a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Let’s just say the Predators are playing with the equivalent of house money and that’s occasionally been reflected in their play, which has been backed by brilliant goaltending from Juuse Saros.

“They’re definitely hanging around. The thing with them is they have no expectations right now,” said Niederreiter. “They sold quite a lot of players, traded away quite a lot of players. Now they can play with no pressure, knowing they don’t have to make the playoffs. 

“Obviously if they make it, it’s great and they definitely deserve it. But they have no pressure, so it’s definitely a different situation they are in. But they’re a good hockey club. They have a terrific goaltender, they have some young forwards who can definitely play some great hockey.”

Finding a way to play great hockey with consistency is essential for the Jets, who will now look to recapture the good feelings they generated last weekend with a pair of wins over the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils.

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It’s not like the Jets were overwhelmed by the moment on Wednesday, but they quite simply didn’t find – or sustain – a high enough level for 60 minutes.

There were times the Jets were a bit tentative, which meant they were unable to impose their will on the opponent or dictate the terms by which the game would be played.

Those are things that will fall under the category of lessons learned that Dillon referenced earlier.

“We all know what’s at stake,” said Dillon. “We all want to do the right thing and want to get there.”

During a stretch that seems to be filled with season-defining moments, the Jets are about to be presented with another chance to supply one.

Doing so will require striking that ever-important balance of playing with urgency while also being loose enough to be at a level where they can find their collective A-game against an opponent with just as much at stake.

“We’ve talked about just zooming in on the moment itself. If we win three games, we’re pretty much guaranteed in,” said Jets associate head coach Scott Arniel. “We can’t focus on that. We have to focus on our individual games, what you can do as a player that can bring benefit to our hockey club, and just go out and do that.

“We know what we have to do against a team that’s going to be desperate, we just have to play a smart hockey game like we know we can do.”

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