Jets come up empty again to colorado's attack:
The Winnipeg Jets are going home, for good.
On Tuesday night, the Colorado Avalanche finished off the Jets by way of a 6-3 final from Canada Life Centre in Game 5 of the opening round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.
No, not many expected the series to be done before Game 6, and after the 7-6 Game 1 victory by Winnipeg, it was looking like Colorado, not the Jets, that would be going home early.
However, the lower-ranked seed proved to be the tougher out, as the Avalanche followed the Vegas Golden Knights' 2023 postseason script and took care of Winnipeg with four-straight wins.
If the Avalanche continue following that path, they will win the Stanley Cup.
Winnipeg came out firing and scored first on Tuesday, but then failed to capitalize on any other chance until midway through the second period.
Colorado scored two quick ones, before pulling ahead 3-2 as the second period came to a close.
Tyler Toffoli breathed a breath of fresh air into Canada Life Centre with a goal general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff had visions of back on trade deadline day, but Winnipeg once again could not hold off Colorado's pressure.
The Avs potted the eventual winner just two minutes after Toffoli's strike, before adding an insurance marker and an empty-netter as time ticked down on the Jets' season.
Captains Adam Lowry and Josh Morrissey spoke following the game, with both passionately defending their teammates, while jointly challenging their group to learn and be better over the summer months in order to put a better foot forward next spring.
Head coach Rick Bowness would not comment on his plans for next season, as the Jets do have a third-year option on his contract. But his indications were that of pointing towards being in Winnipeg for training camp.
Next up for the Jets is locker clean-out day on Thursday morning.
HIGHLIGHTS:
PHOTOS:
The extended photo library from Tuesday's game vs. Colorado is courtesy of Scott Stroh:
QUOTABLE:
Josh Morrissey post-game:
"Right now, it’s just disappointing and frustrating. It feels like a missed opportunity. But, the only way that there is any good from this is that we learn from it and we actually look at how we can improve as individuals and as a group. Because, they brought that Stanley Cup-winning class to this series, and we didn’t return it for three or four of those games. We have levels that we need to find this offseason. I hope it stings for all of us into the summer and we use it as motivation."
Adam Lowry post-game:
"They’re an elite team over there, they have high-end talent and I think when we look back at the series, special teams, especially our penalty kill, that really hurt us in a couple of big moments and in a couple of games. Just our inability to get to our 5-on-5 game until tonight. Those will be the two keys that you take away. Credit to the Avs. They played a hell of a series and they’ve got a great team. They’re going to be a tough out."
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