How many times can a team hit rock bottom in one season? It really seems like the Jets have been making it a goal to keep busting through that point to make the season seem worse and worse at every turn, and have ultimately forced Kevin Cheveldayoff’s hand in the firing of coach Claude Noel. An offensively weak performance supplemented by some questionable defensive play led to yet another loss for the Winnipeg Jets, who are now slipping further and further down the league standings.

Following what actually was a decent start to the game by the Winnipeg Jets, the wheels fell off coming into the second, as they were unable to put together much in terms of scoring opportunities. Long range shots and failed ‘dump and chase’ play, complied with odd-man opportunities and blown defensive coverage in front of the net from Columbus led to another blow-out loss for a defeated group of players and fans.

To be fair, it’s not like Columbus put on an offensive clinic. They just simply took advantage of the plethora of opportunities handed to them by a sub-par Jet defensive group.

Despite chances for both sides, neither team was able to generate any consistent pressure on the power play throughout the night. Heck, the Jets gave up a shorthanded goal/chance. That nullifies any positive the Jets earned via their power play goal, and at the other end, the Blue Jackets were only able to create one true scoring chance on four PP opportunities.

Regardless of the offensive benefits of having Byfuglien play as a forward, I think it was clear that the Jets are not even close to good enough defensively without him on the blue line. As Kevin explained in his post game article, Buff provides the Jets with a sheltering option, making things easier for everyone else by taking on the toughest minutes. Sure, he makes some big mistakes. But he handles those minutes better than anyone else. Stuart made his usual turnovers, Trouba had a rough game, and the whole group just looked weak.

One pairing that managed to not get completely picked apart was Ellerby and Pardy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. They may play protected minutes, but they take advantage of the opportunity. It’s very rare that they are pinned in their own zone, and usually end up being positive possession players. Exactly what a third pairing on this current squad should be.

I thought Eric O’Dell fit nicely on the line with Scheifele and Frolik. They spent the majority of their time in the offensive end, O’Dell managed to score his first NHL goal, and they were the only line to all finish without a negative scoring chance differential at even strength. That’s not to say I would want him to replace Evander Kane permanently on that line, but give O’Dell the chance to prove himself.

With Paul Maurice officially taking over for the reminder of the season, things are sure to eventually change quite drastically for this Jets squad. I for one am interested to see how Maurice will handle the workload of some players, or how far he will go to protect the kids. Every coach has his own methods and plans for shaping and deploying lines. Claude’s weren’t working. Maybe Paul’s will?