Jets vs. Avalanche bloody finish in Game 3 result of unnecessary playoff mentality

The lasting impression, after all the players had been cleared from the ice and sent to the dressing room, was all that blood.

Blood everywhere. Blood flowing from either the wrist or the hand of Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon, the result of the foolish and unnecessary aftermath of what ended as a lopsided 6-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night. Blood on the jersey of Avalanche forward Brandon Duhaime, with whom Dillon got entangled in a meaningless scrum.

MORE FIREWORKS BETWEEN THE JETS AND AVS 😱 pic.twitter.com/ow9inLIFqq

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 27, 2024

In his postgame media availability, Jets coach Rick Bowness could only offer that Dillon was being examined by the medical staff.

“Scary, scary situation there. I don’t really have anything to say, but we’re all really concerned for him and just hoping everything’s OK,” added Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey.

For anyone who’s watched the NHL enough, what happened after the game ended followed a familiar script. Early in the third period, Winnipeg was nursing a one-goal lead in a close, entertaining, hard-fought, well-played game. Then, after the Avs tied it 2-2, the Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi was guilty of high-sticking the Avs’ Devon Toews.

There was a lot of blood there, too, flowing from Toews’ face — enough to warrant a double minor penalty against Vilardi. Naturally, Colorado — with one of the NHL’s most potent power plays — scored with the man advantage, a goal by Valeri Nichushkin, to go up 3-2. From there, the Avs won going away. There was the usual moaning on social media about the officiating, but the reality is, the two calls that really hurt Winnipeg — Vilardi’s double minor and then a puck-over-the-glass call against Neal Pionk, were automatic.

No discretion or unnecessarily nuanced calls.

In the end, Colorado was the better team, and deserved the win — and it should have ended there. Both teams go home, reset on the off day and prepare for Sunday’s fourth game.

But no. It didn’t go that way. In the past, the Jets have been criticized for not having enough pushback when things go south. It felt as if they needed to send a message, ahead of Game 4, that they wouldn’t be pushed around. So there was a scrum in the final minute; which the referees cleared up, with mostly no harm done.

Time ran out, and that should have been that. But instead of going to the dressing room, the teams engaged in more pushing and shoving. Sometimes it’s…