It was fun while it lasted.
After soaring for so long, the Winnipeg Jets finally ran out of fuel, ending their best season ever on a four-game tailspin, falling 2-1 to Vegas on Sunday.
The Jets took the first game of the Western Conference final from the Vegas Golden Knights, but lost the next four straight and were sent packing 4-1 in the best-of-seven series.
The goal that ended the Jets season came off the stick of Winnipeg-born Ryan Reaves, son of Blue Bombers legendary running back Willard Reaves.
The second-period goal was Reaves's first of the playoffs.
The Jets had a power play opportunity to try and get the equalizer with four minutes left in the period but spent too much time passing, waiting for the perfect opening that never came, instead of directing some shots at the net.
Despite the Round 3 collapse, the Jets and their fans have a lot to celebrate after setting all sorts of franchise records.
No NHL squad from this Prairie city has ever gone as deep into the playoffs as this, created as much sensation as this across the country or raised as much hope.
And when next season starts, a new banner will be raised to the rafter of Bell MTS Place, declaring the 2017-18 Jets as Central Division champions.
After a back-and-forth Round 2 series in which the Jets knocked off the Nashville Predators — the No. 1 team in the NHL regular season — they earned that crown.
The banner as Western Conference champions will have to wait until next year.
As for the Stanley Cup? Well, if the Hockey News prediction from three years ago holds up, that will be next year, too.
Fans weren't giving up
Prior to the game, you'd have been hard pressed to find a doubtful tone among the thousands of white-clad fans.
Outside, the street crowd chanted "We want the cup," while inside Bell MTS Place, fans brought homemade signs that said, "We still like our odds" and "We believe."
None of the fans seem ready to throw in all of those white towels they've been waving since the puck dropped on the team's first playoff game back on April 11.
"We've just so much enjoyed this season and the way the club has played, and I really think that with the support of the fans, they can do it. They can come back from 3-1 down and move on to the final," said Ron Zuke, who is originally from Manitoba but now lives in Airdrie, Alta.
He and his wife, Selene, made the trip to Winnipeg for Game 5 and made sure to rent a white car to make their way to the arena. With them, they carried the licence plates from their vehicles at home — Alberta plates that say NHL Jets and Jets Fan.
"If you watch the last couple of games, the Jets have really dominated at times and it's really just been [Vegas goalie Marc-André] Fleury standing on his head," Zuke said.
"If they can cut down on mistakes and capitalize on their chances, I think they can do it one game at a time."
"One game at a time," echoed Selene, who said she was never a hockey fan before, but since watching the Jets, "now I'm hard core."
Conrad Hoy, dressed in a white wig and Viking helmet, looked ready to celebrate, but admitted he was nervous.
"It's a big, big hole," he said about the 3-1 deficit. "I've been nervous every game, but now I'm super nervous.
"They have to go to another level. A desperate level."