NHL: “I am so disappointed and disgusted”

UPDATE DAY

A first team packed up for the Stanley Cup playoffs on Thursday, and the day after was already indigestible in the eyes of the Winnipeg Jets, especially their head coach Rick Bowness. 

The 4 to 1 defeat suffered in the fifth game of the series at the hands of the Golden Knights of Vegas meant the end of the broadcasts for the band of Pierre-Luc Dubois, who moreover lived through a trying evening finding themselves on the rink for the opponent's first three goals. Also, the next few days are likely to be tormented in the entourage of the Jets. The last few months, even if they were crowned with qualifying for the playoffs, and the first-round duel more specifically, have a foul odor for the club driver. 

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“I'm so disappointed and disgusted,” Bowness grumbled at a press briefing. There was no desire to reply. This is the same shit we saw in February. As soon as our opponents challenged us for first place, we didn't fight back. Here, their best players were superior to ours, it wasn't even close.” 

“You have to feel pride and be able to turn things around when things aren't going well for you,” he continued. The Knights deserved to win. They were the best roster in the regular season [in the NL Western Conference] and they were the strongest in this series.” 

No Excuses < /h3>

Sure, injuries to a few key players like Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele have hurt the cause, but that doesn't excuse the performance of other high-profile hockey players. Kyle Connor, Nino Niederreiter and Dubois all finished with four points. The latter two posted differentials of -7 and -4, respectively. It was Neal Pionk who led his team with seven points, all assists. 

“I am frustrated. After the first game [a 5-1 win] I was so excited and even at the start of this game I was swimming in confidence. We were in on it, but we didn't really fight them off when we got hit in our zone,” defender Brenden Dillon said, as reported by the Winnipeg Sun.

Now, it remains to be seen what the future holds for several members of the organization. Since joining, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has won three playoff series in 12 campaigns. Among players, Dubois should be the subject of more rumors linking him to the Montreal Canadiens. He is eligible for salary arbitration this year and could test the freelance market in the summer of 2024 without a contract longer than a year.