The Winnipeg Jets beat themselves in series against Avalanche

The Winnipeg Jets fell in five games to the Colorado Avalanche in their first-round series. 

The Jets were the higher seed, had home-ice advantage and were one of the more surprising teams all season after a dramatic summer. 

While the Avalanche were certainly flying in this series, as they usually are, the Jets also did plenty to beat themselves.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was 1-4 with a .870 save percentage and 5.23 goals-against average. This came after a stellar season that earned him a nod as a Vezina Trophy finalist for the NHL’s best goaltender. 

Winnipeg did not get a ton of help below the stellar performances of Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. They allowed 5.60 goals per game, completely eliminating any advantage from scoring 3.00 goals per game, were mediocre or worse on special teams and could never get the key play in the big moment. 

They also had no answer for Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen or Nathan MacKinnon. Each had nine points (two goals, seven assists), including a bunch of multipoint games and Rantanen scoring twice in Game 5. 

Looking back at the series, this was more how many expected the Jets’ season to go. They looked sloppy and inconsistent, and there was a definite disconnect within the organization about what they were trying to accomplish and the style they wanted to play. 

The results speak for themselves. 

Frank Seravalli: In some ways, the Jets, it feels like they beat themselves. It feels like there was a bit of a clash between players and coach, in terms of how to execute what they are trying to do. Part of that might just be that the Avs attack you by brute force and overwhelm you. The other part is the effort and compete. I thought this Jets team would be dogged competitors. And we got the opposite end of that. That part surprised me. 

You can watch the full segment and episode here: