Jets fans bring playoff vibes, electric energy to Winnipeg's 1st whiteout street party since 2019

A tightly packed mosh pit of crazed Winnipeg Jets fans gathered near the Canada Life Centre Saturday afternoon for the first whiteout street party in the city since the team's playoff run in 2019.

Fans packed Donald Street, between Portage and Graham avenues, for the sold-out street party — with attendance capped at 5,000 — to watch Game 3 of the Jets' opening-round NHL playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights on two gigantic screens, and other spots outside the downtown arena.

With music pumping through the speakers at heightened levels, chants of "go Jets go," and beer flowing at the party, the number of fans grew and the raucous atmosphere rose throughout the early afternoon, leading up to the 3 p.m. CT puck drop.

The Jets erased a 4-1 deficit, rallying with three goals in the third period, only for Michael Amadio to score the game-winning goal 3:40 into double overtime to lift the Golden Knights to a 5-4 win and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series.

Chris Barnes was admittedly bummed out after the loss.

He said the Jets gave a much better effort than their 5-2 loss in Game 2, and he expressed optimism ahead of Game 4 on Monday at 8:30 p.m.

"I'd say we've got at least a 90 per cent chance of winning on Monday," Barnes said.

The cooler-than-normal conditions — with the temperature just 3 C under sunny skies by game time — didn't put a damper on the electric energy in the streets from Jets fans who were clearly ready to party, including those from well out of town.

"Like we say in Australia, it's going to go off. It's going to go off," said Carole Evans, a first-time whiteout party attendee from the eastern Australian community of Noosa.

"People are going to be standing, cheering, going crazy for the Jets and supporting them either way."

Evans has been in Winnipeg for two months visiting her three sisters, and has become a staunch Jets fan. She went to seven regular-season games and was eager to get inside the arena for her first playoff contest.

She's also got a favourite player — one who was bloodied by a skate to the face in Game 1 of the series.

"I love the Jets and Morgan Barron is my favourite player," Evans said.

Fan Josh Berthelette was feeling every kind of playoff vibe walking around the Jets street party.

Not only was he decked out from head to toe in white — he also sported a white wig and painted-on mustache and goatee that gave him a bit of a Col. Sanders look.

He even had white-tinted contacts to complete his playoff ensemble. So why go all out?

"Why not? It's playoffs, baby. Let's go!" Berthelette said.

His friend Chris Prevost was basking in the glow that surrounded Berthelette.

"It feels like I'm walking around with a celebrity," Prevost said, confirming that Berthelette is indeed not actually the KFC founder.

Stan Plett, a longtime Jets supporter going back to before the team relocated to Arizona, said he's been attending whiteout street parties since Winnipeg regained an NHL franchise.

Donning a white painter's suit, along with matching white gloves, a long white-haired wig and painted-on white moustache, Plett says the street parties have evolved.

"It's much bigger, a lot more fun. People are looser. We're here just to have a good time, even if some of the competition people are here," he said.

WATCH / Jets fans in 'whiteout' frenzy at playoff nail-biter game against Golden Knights: 

Plett believes there was a different vibe to Saturday's street party compared to those held pre-pandemic, especially going back to Winnipeg's run to the Western Conference final in 2018 — one that Vegas ended.

"I think the difference now is that we are the underdog. [Back] then we were clearly the favourites.… We're fighting like underdogs and it bodes well for the team," Plett said.

With the series tied 1-1 following its opening games in Las Vegas, the energy at the Game 3 street party crowd ratcheted up a few notches during an opening-minute fight between Jets defenceman Brenden Dillon and Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar, after the Brandon, Man.-born Kolesar flattened Winnipeg's Adam Lowry with a thunderous hit.

Vegas jumped out to a quick advantage with two goals in the first 6:18 of the first period, but the video on the two big screen dragged a few seconds behind the audio, prompting fans to begin chanting, "fix the audio! Fix the audio!"

Before the video caught up, Kyle Connor sniped a goal for the Jets, cutting their deficit in half just before the midway mark of the opening frame.

But the spark in the crowd withered away as Vegas increased its lead to 4-1 with two more goals in the second period.

Like Plett, Berthelette thought there was a different vibe downtown at Saturday's whiteout party. But he says if the Jets are able to string a few more wins together, the city will erupt in support of the team.

"It's going to take a while for it to get going, I think," Berthelette said. "Once the Jets start playing well and winning consistently, I think they're going to light up the city again."