After the Jets' big loss: “We are obviously disappointed” – Pierre-Luc Dubois

MISE À DAY

The Winnipeg Jets had a great opportunity to knock out the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, but they missed their chance and will have to work harder to keep the second bye of the clubs drafted in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Defeated 3 to 1 by the Alberta team, the troops of head coach Rick Bowness remain in the top 8 allowing access to the playoffs, except that their room for maneuver is reduced. They have 89 points, the same number as the Flames, but have played one less game. That will take place on Friday when the Nashville Predators, 10th in the standings with 86 points and two games in hand, face Manitoba.

Inside the locker room, the players refuse to give in to panic, but taking nothing for granted. It will take more to take them down and the work must continue.

“A loss is still a loss, but like I said, we could be in worse shape and end up outside the playoff picture. We would be that team having played one more game and being out of the playoffs, even with the same point total. […] We are obviously disappointed and we are not going to stay here saying that we are happy. Nevertheless, we remain in a good position in the standings. We just have to focus on the next duels,” Quebecer Pierre-Luc Dubois explained to NHL.com.

Not to collapse

The Jets will have to get some big points by the end of the schedule if they want to avoid a spring 2022 restart, marked by a playoff exclusion. After visiting the Preds, they will host the San Jose Sharks on Monday before wrapping up with moves to the Minnesota Wild the next day and the Colorado Avalanche on April 13.

The intensity is likely to peak once again, particularly on Friday.

“It always seems to end like this; that's why we work all year round, said defender Nate Schmidt. We work hard to play games like this and the next. It gives good stories all the time.”

“We're still in eighth place,” Bowness told the Winnipeg Free Press daily. It's up to us to keep it and we're there.”

-Dubois certainly wants to show more consistency in terms of statistics. He has just collected three points in his two most recent outings, after being held in check in the previous two. Against Calgary, he added an assist, but finished with a -2 differential.