Winnipegged

 Out there on the Canadian plains, the fair city of Winnipeg woke this morning with the taste of Jets fuel on its tongue, and, lord, wasn't that a familiar feeling. You drink Jets fuel the way people in other places drink Kool-Aid, you greet the inevitable day of disillusionment with the mother of all hangovers.

Which is to say, the city's hockey team got Winnipeg's hopes up again, and then dashed them again. Or Winnipegged them, if you prefer.

Stars 2, Jets 1 was the score from Dallas in Game 6 of the conference semis last night, which sent the Stars to the conference finals and the Jets into the offseason prematurely  again. And to make matters worse, they didn't even have the decency to get it over with in a hurry, playing into overtime before Thomas Harley extinguished their playoff run.

Which at least they didn't extend beyond the second round, sparing their fan base the agony of believing the Jets were finally going to reach a Stanley Cup Final (Look, we're only one step away! It's OUR YEAR AT LAST!) before inevitably cratering in the conference final.

Instead, they cratered a round before that. And once again the caprice of Lord Stanley was not mocked.

The Jets, see, won 56 games during the regular season, four more than anyone else. And now they're gone. So are the Washington Capitols (51 wins and the Metropolitan Division winners) and the Las Vegas Golden Knights (50 wins and the Pacific Division titleists). 

Another division champ, the 52-win Toronto Maple Leafs, play Game 7 at home against the Florida Panthers tonight. Wanna bet who wins that one?

Because Lord Stanley does not play favorites, and in fact seems to loathe them. That's why it's been 17 years since the NHL's regular-season champ has lifted the man's Cup. And he seems especially fond of torturing the Jets -- who, to reiterate, have never played in a Stanley Cup Final, not once in 53 seasons.

This at least gives their fans the balm of inevitability every spring, if such a balm can be regarded as one. And so if Winnipeg woke up this morning with a Jets fuel hangover, it likely also woke up saying this: "Typical."

Also, "Stupid Jets."

Also, "I'm NEVER believing in these guys again. I mean it this time."

And so on.