Jets had 'no pushback' in Game 5 loss, coach says

LAS VEGAS -- Rick Bowness did not hold back after the Winnipeg Jets were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Vegas Golden Knights with a
4-1 loss in Game 5
of the Western Conference First Round at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

"I'm so disappointed and disgusted right now, " the coach said.
The Jets, the second wild from the West, lost four straight games after winning the series opener against the top-seeded Golden Knights, and struggled mightily in Game 5.
With their season on the line, they allowed a goal 50 seconds into the game and managed five shots on goal in the first period. In the second period, they allowed three goals, including another one in the first minute, and were outshot 15-9. In the third, they finally scored and generated some chances, but most of the offense came after the decision to pull goalie Connor Hellebuyck with more than seven minutes remaining.
"No pushback," Bowness said. "It's the same stuff]*
Winnipeg went 17-19-2 after Jan. 15 to fall from challenging for first in the conference to sneaking in as the second wild card in its penultimate game of the regular season.
It started the playoffs with a 5-1 win here in Game 1 but had few answers after as injuries and disappointment built.
The Jets lost 5-2 in Game 2 and 5-4 in double overtime in Game 3, when they extended the game with three goals in the third without top defenseman Josh Morrissey, who was injured on his first shift. In Game 4, they lost 4-2, along with the services of forward Mark Scheifele, who scored 42 goals in the regular season.
Then, in Game 5, it was a rout from the start.
"We have to push back," Bowness said, seething. "There has to be a pushback. There has to be pride. You have to be able to push back when things aren't going your way. We had no pushback.
"Their better players were so much better than ours tonight. They deserved to win. They were the better team in the regular season, they were the better team in this series."

Defenseman Neal Pionk stepped up for the Jets when Morrissey was injured and finished with seven assists in the five games. Forward Adam Lowry scored four goals, and forward Blake Wheeler had six points (two goals, four assists).
But it wasn't enough to counter a Golden Knights team firing on all cylinders and getting above-average goaltending from Laurent Brossoit, a former backup in Winnipeg. Vegas won Game 5 without defensemen Shea Theodore (illness) and Brayden McNabb (upper-body injury).
"[We are ticked] off," Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon said. "After Game 1 you feel so excited, and even coming into tonight I was confident. I think a lot of us were confident. We feel confident in the talent we have, the goalie we have, the players, like everyone was feeling good.
"We were in the game, but we weren't really taking it to them when we knew they were a little banged up on the back end tonight, and we just didn't take enough advantage of it. Had a push at the end, but it was a little too late."