Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness sent a loud and clear message after his team was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday.
In a press conference that lasted just one minute after the Jets' 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of their first-round series, the first-year Winnipeg coach took a serious shot at the team's core group.
"I’m so disappointed and disgusted right now, that’s my thoughts," Bowness said.
Where does the disgust come from?
"No pushback. But it’s the same crap we saw in February. It was. As soon as we were challenging for first place and teams were coming after us, we had no pushback. This series we had no pushback. Their better players were so much better than ours, it’s not even close."
While the Jets were missing top players Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele to injury on Thursday, Bowness wasn't about to use that as an excuse.
After falling out of the race for first in the West in the winter, the Jets recovered to earn the final playoff spot. But after winning the first game in Vegas in the series, the Jets couldn't keep up.
“We’ve got to push back. There’s go to be a pushback, there’s got to be pride. You've got to be able to push back when things aren't going your way," Bowness said.
The coach's rant kicks off what promises to be an eventful off-season in Winnipeg.
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