3 reasons the Winnipeg Jets didn't win the Stanley Cup
The Winnipeg Jets blew their chance to win the Stanley Cup yet again.
The Colorado Avalanche took on the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. Things started in favor of Winnipeg as they won game one.
For the second year in a row, they lost four straight games in the playoffs after taking a 1-0 series lead in the first round.
Last year, the Vegas Golden Knights did it to them and then won the Stanley Cup. We'll see what happens to the Avalanche from here.
It was a very good season for the Jets but they weren't good enough to win in the playoffs. Now, we have to look back on why they didn't win the Stanley Cup this year:
The Colorado Avalanche are more experienced than the Winnipeg Jets
The Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. They aren't far removed from winning the whole thing.
Plenty of the players from that championship team are still there. That includes their three best players in Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar.
The fact that the Jets haven't even been past round number one in a while showed up in this series. The Jets just didn't look like a team capable of winning the entire thing.
If the Jets want to make some impactful changes this off-season, they should consider a few players who have won the Stanley Cup.
They did add Tyler Toffoli who has won it with the Los Angeles Kings but he wasn't good enough on his own to carry this team in terms of experience.
When you're facing a team like the mighty Colorado Avalanche, it is very hard to get by them without the deep run experience.
Cale Makar might have helped the Avalanche beat anyone in this series
The Colorado Avalanche have a superstar in Cale Makar. You can make a claim that he is the greatest (most impactful) player in the NHL right now.
Makar had nine points in this series which (at the time of Colorado's advancement) had him tied for second only behind Connor McDavid.
This is a defenseman that has done everything in the NHL. Now, it is about stacking as many deep playoff runs as possible.
With Makar on the ice playing the way that he did, the Jets had no chance to stop him. Whether it was coast to coast goals, incredible passing, or great defensive work, he does it all.
The way that Makar impacts a game in the playoffs is unlike anybody he's ever gone against. The Jets tried to do what they can against him but not doing better cost them a series win.
Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck wasn't impressive in this series
The Winnipeg Jets were one of the best defensive teams in the NHL this season. Connor Hellebuyck is probably going to win the Vezina Trophy for his amazing play. He also shared the Jennings Trophy (least amount of goals given up) with Laurent Brossoit.
In this series, Hellebuyck was not good enough. He was the best goalie in the regular season but one of the worst in the playoffs. That is a good way to say goodbye in the first round.
Hellebuyck finished with a 5.23 goals against average and .870 save percentage. With numbers like that for one of the best goalies in the world, it is not shocking that they lost the series.
You can't win the Stanley Cup with poor goaltending and that is what they got in this series. They need him to be much better in future postseasons if they want to eventually win this thing.
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