AS I SEE IT COLUMN: A franchise-defining win for the Jets

In 1970 when there was talk of professional hockey coming to Manitoba in the form of the WHA, my forward-thinking dad got season tickets because he thought one day the WHA might merge with the NHL.

Fast forward 55 years to the Jets squeaking out a game 7 win against the St Louis Blues, and it was the kind of hockey he dreamed about, the kind of magical moments we had so many of in the WHA and which have been so hard to come by in the NHL.

Let’s face reality. Other than some exceptions in the Dale Hawerchuk and Teemu Selanne eras, the experience of Jets fans in the NHL era has been largely disappointing and often frustrating.

That changed with the Jets’ gutsy performance in game seven.

Every sports fan in the province knows that the Jets tied the game with 1.6 seconds left and then won in double overtime.

After playing some horrible hockey in the previous six games, the Jets can now hit the reset button in round 2 against Dallas.

Game seven was remarkable for so many different reasons.

The team was two heart beats away from a devastating loss. Fans and the media would have been screaming for heads to roll after another disappointing first round loss, but instead, the team salvaged their reputation and showed a ton of resilience.

It is not hyperbole to say it was a franchise-defining win. Had they been booted out of the first round for the third straight year, after being the best team in the regular season this year, would have been a crushing blow to the Jets’ legacy.

To their credit, the Jets found something in themselves that resulted not in a catastrophic loss, but a euphoric victory for the ages.

In addition to playing poorly, the Jets had to overcome a dirty St Louis team. There is a difference between wearing players down and head-hunting with intent to injure. The Blues crossed that line several times each game. The hockey gods rewarded the Blues with early tee times on the golf course.

The mental fragility of the Jets in general, and of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck in particular, was painful to watch. They played awful hockey during long stretches of the first round, but when things mattered the most, they fought to the very end. To Hellebuyck’s credit, he was perfect in overtime when he had to be.

Hellebuyck will win the award for the best regular season goalie and he could win the award for the regular season MVP. Connor, the best way to rebuild your playoff reputation – to start a brand-new narrative about the quality of your play in the postseason is to prove that you are in fact the best goalie in the world: win the award for playoff MVP in addition to your regular season awards.

That has never been done before. Seize the opportunity!

Be great. Steal games the Jets have no right winning. Put the team on your shoulders. It would be a season for the ages and cement your legacy as one of the best goalies the game has ever witnessed.

If the Jets had not scored the tying goal with two eye blinks left in game seven, fans would have demanded someone from the Jets core group be traded, because the team would have once again proven that they just don’t have what it takes to win in the playoffs.

We will find out soon enough if the Jets have fully (or only temporarily) slayed their postseason demons. They miraculously have a chance to write a glorious new story.

In elite sport where everyone is similarly talented, the difference often rests between the players’ ears. Belief can make you soar; fear can cripple your performance.

Now that the first-round albatross around their neck is gone, round two promises to be fascinating.