WEDNESDAY COMMENTARY – LIKE A ROCK

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

WE DON’T SPEND ENOUGH TIME HERE EXAMINING THE WINNIPEG JETS.

ALTHOUGH I’M SURE GIVEN THEIR RECENT STRUGGLES, THEY’RE OKAY WITH THAT.

HOWEVER AFTER SOME DEEP RUNS INTO THE SPRING THE PAST FEW YEARS, THE JETS HAVE GRABBED AN EVER-GROWING PORTION OF SASKATCHEWAN NHL FANS; PARTICULARLY THAT EAST-CENTRAL AREA.

AND HONESTLY, IN THE NHL’S BERMUDA TRIANGLE WHICH IS SASKATCHEWAN, IT’S HARD TO IGNORE THE JETS SINCE EVERY GAME IS SHOWN ON TSN3 IN OUR REGION.

SO I’VE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO WATCH THIS CLUB BUT REALLY ZEROED IN ON THEM THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS. THEIR GAME IN PHILADELPHIA LAST NIGHT WAS DESIGNATED AS OUR “FEATURED GAME” ON THE ROD PEDERSEN SHOW SO I PAID CLOSE ATTENTION.

HMMM. IT WASN’T GOOD.

WELL THE GAME ITSELF WAS. IT WAS VERY CLOSE, TIED 1-1 TILL LATE, AND THE SHOTS WERE GENERALLY EVEN THROUGHOUT (PHILLY ENDED UP WINNING THERE 34-31).

IN FACT IT WAS SO CLOSE I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO OVERTIME OR A SHOOTOUT WHICH WASN’T GOOD NEWS FOR THE JETS, FACING A TEAM WHO’D JUST LOST A CLUB RECORD 13 STRAIGHT GAMES.

BUT IT DIDN’T HAPPEN. A DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWN LED TO A 2-ON-1 AND PHILADELPHIA’S JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK SCORED THE WINNER WITH ABOUT FOUR MINUTES TO GO.

THEY THEN ADDED AN EMPTY-NETTER, AND IT ENDED 3-1 FLYERS.

YES … THE JETS IMPLODED AND LOST TO ONE OF THE NHL’S WORST TEAMS. THEY’VE NOW LOST 7 OF 8.

A CLOSED DOOR MEETING FOLLOWED AND I CAN TELL YOU AFTER MY YEARS IN SPORTS THAT ONCE THOSE HAPPEN, IT’S GENERALLY CURTAINS.

I DON’T EVER RECALL AN INSTANCE WHERE A CLOSED DOOR MEETING MAGICALLY TURNED A SEASON AROUND.

FOR THE JETS, IT’S OVER. THEY’RE 14 POINTS OUT OF A PLAYOFF SPOT AND PLAYING UNINSPIRED HOCKEY WITH HALF A SEASON TO GO.

INTERIM COACH DAVE LOWRY HAS REALIZED HE’S NOT COACHING THE BRANDON WHEAT KINGS ANYMORE, AND SEEMED AT A LOSS FOR WORDS AFTER LAST NIGHT’S IMPLOSION.

THE WINDOW HAS CLOSED. UNDOUBTEDLY PAUL MAURICE SAW THIS WHEN HE STEPPED DOWN AS COACH IN DECEMBER.

THEY’RE STILL OPTIMISTIC IN WINNIPEG BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE, BUT IT’S UP TO GM KEVIN CHEVELDAYOFF TO DECIDE WHO HE WANTS TO KEEP AROUND THROUGH THE REBUILD AND DISPATCH EVERYONE ELSE.

CHEVY AND HELLEBUYCK ARE THE ONLY ONES I’D KEEP.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)

Photo: Philadelphia Flyers