Tuesday night in San Jose was a disaster for the slumping Winnipeg Jets. Taking on Erik Karlsson and the Sharks in yet another 'must-win' game, the Jets faltered once again, suffering their third shutout loss in seven appearances.
Entering Tuesday's tilt just four points up on Calgary and five ahead of Nashville for the final Western Conference wild card spot, the Jets did little, if anything, to maintain the gap in the standings. A dreadful 3-0 loss was the outcome, sending head coach Rick Bowness into a demoralizing post-game tirade.
"The inconsistencies with some of our players is hurting us," the Jets' first-year bench boss said. "Some of these guys think they’re giving us everything in their tank, they’re dreaming."
That's about as straightforward as it gets.
But the veteran coach wasn't done there.
"We have a lot of guys in there giving us everything they can," he added. "We just need a few more guys to jump on board. It’s not over. We’re still in eighth spot. We’re going to find out what we’re made of over the next little while.”
Sure, Winnipeg still has a slight lead over division rival Nashville and fellow Canadian club Calgary for that final spot, but the gap is shrinking, quite literally by the day.
With just six wins in 14 total games during the month of March, the Jets are more than struggling. Digging deeper, they have been shut out by the same 3-0 score on three occasions since March 16.
Yes, you read that correctly. They suffered three separate 3-0 shutout losses in a span of two weeks.
Winnipeg owns a 12-12-2 record since the All-Star break and has put up three-plus goal victories just twice, with both wins coming back in early-February.
It truly has been a disastrous second half for a team that was atop the entire Western Conference back in January.
The Jets do have one more test before the miserable month of March comes to a close, as the Detroit Red Wings come to town for a Friday night visit at Canada Life Centre.
Five of Winnipeg's final seven games come at home, with just three of those games featuring clubs currently in playoff spots (New Jersey, Minnesota, Colorado).
"We've got to be a desperate team, it's down to crunch time," Bowness said. "We've just got to embrace that fight and embrace it together as a group and keep fighting. Fight with each other and put it all out there. That's all we can do."
Friday's game begins an incredibly important five-game homestand that will see games against both the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators, as well as the Devils and Sharks. Winnipeg will end things off with the two-game Central Division road trip.