Jets’ 3-game win streak ends with 4-2 loss to Flames

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This article was published 28/03/2021 (1623 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets run to the top of the mountain took a brief stumble Saturday in Cowtown following a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.

After opening a current season-high seven-game road trip with a pair of losses to the Edmonton Oilers late last week, the Jets had the chance to extend their win streak to four games over the lowly Flames. Instead, the loss dropped them to 21-12-2 on the season.

That keeps Winnipeg in second place in the Canadian division, one point up on the Edmonton Oilers and two back of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who still have a game in hand after defeating the Oilers in overtime earlier in the night. A win would have put Winnipeg in a tie with the Leafs for top spot, with a chance to eclipse Toronto in the standings when they meet next week.

“They played hard and they collapsed well. We didn’t get many to the net,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said after the game. “They blocked a lot of shots. But we played them just as hard defensively. It was a pretty even game.”

The victory was much needed for the Flames, who are desperately holding onto their playoff lives after losing five of their previous six games. Calgary improved to 16-17-3 with the win, and is now two points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot. The Canadiens, however, have five games in hand.

The Jets seemed fatigued throughout the night, highlighted by a scoreless effort from their two top forward lines. Not even Winnipeg’s red-hot power play made a mark, going 0-for-2 on the man advantage. They didn’t get the kind of game they’ve come to expect from backup goalie Laurent Brossoit, who finished with 29 saves but allowed a couple odd shots sneak past him to earn his third loss in eight starts.

“I didn’t mind our game – I liked a big chunk of that first period. You know they were going to come with a really heavy push, and they did, but I thought we handled it really well,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said. “First (goal) is a little greasy, got a bad break on the second and then kind of answered when we came back in the second period. A couple unusual bounces in the third and that’s it.”

After falling to the Jets on home ice the previous night in a close affair, 3-2, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the Flames come hot out of the gate. The Jets almost left the frame unscathed, too, only to catch a couple snags near the end of the period, resulting in the visitors falling behind 2-0 at the break.

Josh Leivo opened the scoring 17:13 into the period. Hovering around during a goalmouth scramble, Leivo took a couple whacks at the puck at the side of the net, with his second chance going high over the pad for a 1-0 lead.

A short time later Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo was assessed a holding penalty on Joakim Nordstrom. With a tired penalty unit running out of gas from a long shift, Mark Giordano fired a shot from the point that was redirected off Mason Appleton and past Brossoit to double the Flames’ lead.

The Jets, as they’ve often done this season, clawed their way back, evening the game before the seven-minute mark of the second period.

It would be Appleton that would get things started for Winnipeg, besting David Rittich a mere 34 seconds into the frame. Appleton now has nine goals on the season, one short of becoming the seventh player on the Jets to register double-digit goals this season.

Logan Stanley evened the game minutes later with his first career NHL goal. Stanley had gotten close to finding mesh in recent action, including ringing a puck off the crossbar Friday. The 6-7 blue liner made no mistake this time, corralling the puck near the right faceoff dot before using every inch of his tall frame to rifle a shot high over Rittich’s glove.

“It’s a pretty good feeling to get that one. Something you dream of as a kid, playing your first NHL game and scoring a goal in the NHL. Obviously, that was pretty cool,” Stanley said. “I would have liked a better result for the team, but we will come back Monday with another good game.”

That set up what should have been an entertaining third period, only to have the Flames steal momentum built up by the Jets.

And they didn’t wait long. Andrew Mangiapane scored just 46 seconds into the third period, letting go an innocent shot that was deflected by Tucker Poolman on the way through Brossoit’s legs. Calgary made in 4-2 at the 7:48 mark of the period, with a goal Brossoit will surely want back. Sam Bennett snapped a 14-game goalless drought with a weak shot that was going wide, only to deflect off the stick of Brossoit and in.

The Jets would come alive after they pulled Brossoit for an extra attacker. But action around the net would be for nothing, as Rittich closed the door to earn a 22-save win.

“I don’t know if this is the fact, but it feels like we’re, if not the best, one of the best third period teams in the NHL. So our goal after the first period was to win the second and give ourselves a chance, because we are a good third period team. And, yeah, it just wasn’t the night tonight.”

The third and final game of the mini-series between these two clubs resumes Monday, before returning home for a pair of games between the Leafs.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton