Scott Arniel knew his team had to win today’s game against the Dallas Stars. “I think that obviously we know that on the road we have to be better,” the Winnipeg Jets’ head coach said before Game 4 of the Western Conference second round. And yet, while the goal was to win the match and tie the series with their opponents, it was instead the Stars who picked up another home victory and extended their lead to 3-1 in the best-of-seven-game series. Naturally, it was a tough pill to swallow for everyone.

The Winnipeg Jets finished the regular season on a high note. Clinching the top seed in the entire league, the Central Division side bagged the coveted Presidents’ Trophy before heading to the postseason. For obvious reasons, the exasperation of losing by 3-1 tonight seemed too much for Haydn Fleury to deal with. But fans aren’t having any of it.

Popular hockey figure Gino Hard shared a brief clip on X on May showing how the Winnipeg Jets’ blue line star acted out of frustration after the match ended at the American Airlines Center earlier today. Walking down the players’ corridor, following the defeat, Fleury could be seen smashing his hockey stick against a door, breaking the stick in two. He proceeds to repeat the move, this time against the wall, and this time not even bothering to keep it in his hands.

However, Haydn wasn’t the only Winnipeg Jets star whose body language oozed “annoyance”. For many hockey experts, the Jets are a team that carries a lot of weight on their shoulders. “Sports brings people together and the Jets brought the people of Winnipeg together,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said that the team represents not just the hockey fans, but also the city and its people.

With that, it’s not too difficult to understand why Haydn and his teammates are finding it hard to accept the reality. The Jets won the first round of the conference 4-3 against the St Louis Blues after playing all seven matches. And now, despite being one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season, Winnipeg stands on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs.

Thanks to Mikael Granlund‘s hat-trick, Pete DeBoer’s boys are now firmly in control of the series after today. Jake Oettinger also stood his ground and made 31 saves for the Stars. While these statistics are only like insult to injury for the Winnipeg Jets fans, they still didn’t get behind Fleury’s way of expressing his fuming emotions.

The Winnipeg Jets loyalists aren’t on board with the star’s actions

Like most sports, the NHL also draws significant flak on its match officials whenever fans feel a judgment call didn’t go their way. In Game 3, the Stars’ Mason Marchment tapped the referee on the shin pad after he felt like the ref didn’t call a penalty. The action was a violation of the league’s rules, but the Dallas winger didn’t receive a suspension. While today’s game didn’t see a similar controversy, Winnipeg Jets fans couldn’t help but sneer if Haydn had a complaint he’d like to register against the match official. “It’s the refs fault, right?” one sarcastic comment read, pondering if the Jets wanted to vent their annoyance on the NHL officials again.

“Stop crying,” another fan didn’t have much to say except to note how annoying it was to see Fleury being so over-the-top about the defeat. When the Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy, many thought it wasn’t a good sign. Winning the title and then going on to lift the Stanley Cup is an incredibly rare feat that hasn’t been achieved in over a decade. With that in mind, probably some Winnipeg followers had already prepared themselves for something bad. But Haydn going after his stick of all things wasn’t on the table. “I don’t usually like to straight trash talk. I like to keep it cheeky and fun, but what a baby,” joked another fan.

Despite being incredible throughout the regular season, the Jets’ netminder, Connor Hellebuyck, hasn’t been his usual self in the playoffs. In Game 3, his own awkward goal stunned the hockey community. Referring to that, one Winnipeg fan claimed that Fleury’s frustration should have instead targeted the team and the poor play. “The entire team has been poor,” the fan didn’t beat around the bush.

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But still, some fans couldn’t handle how the star chose to show his frustration at the Stars’ property. ‘What did the door do to him??” one baffled comment read. How do you think he could have gone about his business after today’s loss? Tell us your thoughts on the matter below!