not sure if the team will get up for it but they should.
Making the playoffs next year doesn't start in this off season. It started when we acquired the team from Atlanta and wanted to change the culture of losing that existed under the ownership of ASG and the management of Waddell lord help their suffering fan base. It continued when Andrew Ladd got on a plane on his own dime to check under the hood in Winnipeg and signed a long term deal and put his faith and career in TNSE hands. It carried on when we sent the young crowd favorite Mark Scheifele back to Juniors after he was tied for the scoring lead in the NHL in the preseason because we would rather do the right thing even if it wasn't the easy thing (Scrubs no more). It carried on throughout the season via the highs and lows as we fought tooth and nail to get into the playoffs and we came up just a bit short.
So what do we have to play for now you ask?? Well its easy really we want to be champions one day and if that's the case then you better learn to win all the games all the time. how about the fact that right now we have a great chance to play desperate teams (insert Rangers) that are fighting for 1st place overall and you can't simulate that compete level in October next year. How about the Rangers might have been who we would be playing in the 1st round if we made it so let's see how we measure up. How about next year we might need to win out right to the end so what better practice run can we get than right now. how about we need to learn to turn it around on the road and string some wins together so why wait for next year and have that doubt hanging over our head. How about we get a couple of home wins for the fans that have been so great. This list could go on and on.
IF we want to model ourselves after the Detroit Red Wings or a mid cap team like the Preds then we need to compete to the end of the season!
If we want to be champions then it didn't end when we were eliminated from the playoffs this year, really it just started a new chapter and I for one would love to see the Jets run the table as the year wound down. I believe how we finish this year will carry over to how we start next year and we can distance ourselves from a previous culture that accepted defeat too easily. How about that if we can get to 84 points I believe this will be the 3nd best year the in franchise's 12 year history points wise.
Although I would love a higher draft pick IMHO it is never worth compromising the goal to win every hockey game and become champions. I know the boys are probably a bit mentally fried from being in a must win situation since February 1st but now is when they can develop a new set of muscles that all champions have. I firmly believe going on a winning streak now would be huge for us next year.
common boys lets go lay it on the line and beat the Rangers tonight!!
not sure if the team will get up for it but they should.
I'm all for win. Pressure's off, no need to force and pinch, no desperation. I'm thinking we settle back into basics, defend responsibly, and compete better (not harder, better) and win.
First prediction all year. 2-1 Jets. Not very exciting but 2 points.
I remember a quote you brought up awhile back (I think it was you?), an interview with Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. I can't do it justice, but it was in the context of the Lions going through another losing season, but finishing on a nice 4-0 run. The way Schwartz described it was that the Lions approached that final 4 games as another season, and another building block towards their goal of winning the Super Bowl. Anyway, I remember reading a quote from Schwartz this offseason, which was on the heels of a 10-6 season and the first playoff berth since 1999. It was beyond the cliches about "not resting on your laurels". He basically described his team as not having a true off-season, that succeeding in pro sports is a constant process that never stops. His tone was that the Lions had grown alot, but were still nowhere near where they wanted to be.
This is the Jets new season. They should make it their goal to go 6-0 down this stretch, which IIRC would tie the second-best franchise point total. They need to establish a culture where dropping the intensity level in these upcoming games is an affront to the organization.
It doesn't really matter if a handful of the guys playing in these next games won't be with the organization next year. It's time to establish a culture of winning here.
Coach Noel presser: Injury update (Antropov, Fehr, Thorburn & Buff). Playing against the Rangers. Team still having desire to compete. Lineup changes (Clitsome in playing with Stuart). Play of Miettinen. And more.
Noel's interviews are so boring, same thing over and over. "We've got to find ways to win", so on and so on. No wonder the team has no creativity.
Good thing insightful interviews don't win hockey games. Rangers would be vying for a lottery pick if that were the case, and the Sutter brothers would've stuck to farming.
Playoff run is over so now we can watch with more objectivity and see how every player is performing without the desperation to win that we had before.
Should be interesting to see how the team comes out. Knowing this Jets team they'll win 3-0 and leave us wondering why we couldn't do that in the game we needed to win, but I could also see a let down as we have been fighting for our lives for a month or so and now the adrenalines gone and maybe the fatigue sets in.
And for those interested send us an @tweet to @illegalcurve with your prediction of the 50/50 winning amount and you can win some IC gear and Rumours Tickets.
Good thing insightful interviews don't win hockey games. Rangers would be vying for a lottery pick if that were the case, and the Sutter brothers would've stuck to farming.
I have a feeling that this one is going to be ugly. 5-1 Rangers.
The Rangers have scored 5 goals twice I believe in the last 49 games. Both times against the Flyers. They have won by more than 3 three times all year. They haven't won by more than 2 since Valentine's Day I believe. I'll be shocked if they win by more than 2 (if they win at all).
Well, before last game I said Ottawa would win 5 - 4 in regulation and was quite close. This time I'm feeling a 3 - 2 Rangers win possibly in the shootout.
If we don't get any points out of this game, we could start to see some of those teams like Tampa Bay, Carolina, Anaheim and even the Islanders close the gap and maybe even surpass us by the time the week-end is through. I don't include the Leafs because that would just be BRUTAL.
Good thing insightful interviews don't win hockey games. Rangers would be vying for a lottery pick if that were the case, and the Sutter brothers would've stuck to farming.
Why does the first post show Miettinen with Stapleton-Maxwell and Machacek with Glass-Slater? Is it a mistake or are they actually juggling the lines like that?
Personally, I'd like to see what Machacek could do in place of Wellwood. Burmistrov and Kane should play a little more like the Stapleton-Maxwell-Machacek line has been: quick, simple puck movement; fast cycling down low and interrupting the cycle by throwing the puck in to the crease when it looks like you're going behind the net. All three of them - Kane, Burmistrov and Wellwood - have been over-thinking the play and moving the puck too slowly. You can see it in their entries to the zone. They make a nice move to buy a second or two and then wait for someone to get open. No one does and they turn the puck over. They need to learn to throw the puck in to open ice where their linemates can get it. Once they start doing that they'll start playing with some flow and move their feet more.
I like the idea and think you could be right.
Have a bad feeling for the game but one the other hand we tend to play big against top teams at home.
Go! 
I bet they'll win just because it's a strong team they're playing. Should be fun!
