from George Johnson of the Calgary Herald,

They’re losing the plot. Quickly. This is threatening to unravel like a cheap, off-the-rack leisure suit. A year ago, virtually every night, they were hungrier than George Foreman around a grill and a hunk of red meat.

Right now, it’s as if they’d been first in line at a Vegas buffet, filled their bellies to the bursting and couldn’t swallow another bite.

“Obviously,’’ said coach Bob Hartley, “our compete is not there. Our game is not there. Tonight we got outplayed, we got outworked, we got outhustled.

“You have no chance to win in this league like this. (Friday) night we gave it away late. Tonight we didn’t even show up.’’

A damning appraisal.

Yes, Hartley’s crew was facing the business end of back-to-backs on Saturday night. And those Winnipeg Jets can be a punishing load; a big, belligerent bunch. They’d succeeded in nicking Sam Bennett up badly enough that he was scratched for the second end of the two-in-two.

But that was hardly the ’76 Canadiens on the other side of the centre line during warm-up. That was an 0-5 Edmonton Oilers’ team, in the throes of their own special angst. The big Oil Drop, of course, is Calgary’s own personal ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’ team.

Or, was.

A comprehensive 5-2 loss really drove home what’s missing.

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