Live: Free Press writers on Jets’ pivotal game tonight

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This article was published 22/04/2015 (3848 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Join as at 11 a.m as Free Press reporters Ed Tait and Tim Campbell along with columnist Gary Lawless set up the pivotal game four match-up between the Winnipeg Jets and Anaheim Ducks.

 

One man’s quick take on the Winnipeg Jets on the day when they face elimination for the first time this season…

1. So what have you got for an encore, Jets Nation?

Sequels rarely, if ever, match the debut and it will be interesting to see if there is the same buzz tonight for Game 4 of the Jets-Anaheim Ducks Western Conference Round 1 playoff series as Monday night. Actually, who am I kidding? Of course it will be loud. Of course it will be nuts. If anything could be different for the Jets, it would simply be the ending.

And about that… my colleague Tim Campbell, who has been covering pro hockey in these parts since the days of a helmet-less Randy Carlyle and the 21-team NHL, had some interesting Whiteout numbers in today’s paper. The Jets have lost six straight series with the Whiteout serving as the backdrop dating back to 1987. And since Dave Ellett’s double OT winner in 1990 against Edmonton – a memorable goal that put Winnipeg up 3-1 in series they would lose in 7 – the Jets have lost eight of their last 11 playoff games.

That’s a whole pile of heartache.

2. The reaction to the Dustin Byfuglien "We’ve just got to stick together as a team" stunt Tuesday has been a juicy sidebar for the last few hours. For the record, I pulled my recorder out of the scrum after about a minute when it became clear he wasn’t going to engage anyone.

Those of us who have been around this team just shrug our shoulders at this now. It’s just "Buff being Buff" as the local media know it. Pretty sure no one is personally offended or feels disrespected about how he handles the media. He’s respected in the room and by the coach and that’s all that matters to him.

And just FYI: Byfuglien’s antics are the same win or lose: we’ve requested to speak to him after he has scored game-winning goals in the past and it’s been 50-50 as to whether he makes an appearance in the room afterward. And, for the record, the media will keep trying. That’s our job.
A thought about all this, though: can you imagine the inferno that would be raging right now if Evander Kane had done that yesterday?

3. For a solid outsider’s take on the Byfuglien episode check out the column by Nick Consotika of Yahoo Sports here.

4. Captain Obvious’s three quick keys to a Jets win tonight:

• Finish the deal in the third – Anaheim is the first team in Stanley-Cup playoff history to be down in all three third periods and still win, out-scoring the Jets 7-0 in the third and OT.
• Best players have to be their best — Bryan Little, Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler were solid in Game 3. But Byfuglien hasn’t been good enough in two of the three games and Ondrej Pavelec is going to have to start stealing games again for this series not to flatline for the Jets.
• Special teams – The Jets got their first power-play goal of the series courtesy Tyler Myers in Game 3, and will need more of the same with the man advantage and on the penalty kill.

5. And, finally, this gem from Tyler Walsh, the Multimedia Editor at the Free Press. (Somebody will be on posters and T-shirts soon)

Feeling lost #NHLJets fans? Cheer up w/ an inspiring mobile wallpaper message from Dustin Byfuglien. pic.twitter.com/B8mquxpMJ0

— Tyler Walsh (@walsht) April 21, 2015

 

Ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @WFPEdTait
 

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