Jets can’t recover from slow start in 5-2 loss to Golden Knights

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This article was published 21/10/2022 (1115 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LAS VEGAS — The way the Winnipeg Jets performed in the first-period on Thursday night, it looked like they were going to leave Las Vegas the same way as so many visitors: Empty-handed. Ashamed. Not really wanting to talk about what happened. And hoping everyone quickly forgets what they saw.

And while they ultimately got some self-respect back in the final two frames, a massive early hole proved too deep in an eventual 5-2 loss to the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

“We were a little flat against a team that has been quick out of the gate. We weren’t ready to get our feet moving early and things happened quick. All of a sudden it was 4-0,” is how defenceman Nate Schmidt summed up a horrific first 20 minutes. “We had self-inflicted wounds all over the rink.”

Associate coach Scott Arniel was even more blunt.

“We weren’t really ready to go,” said Arniel. “Obviously a little sloppy hockey. We knew they knew we played last night and they were going to come out really hard. We didn’t execute in any area. Turned pucks over, kind of all the stuff we’ve been building on here. How we were defending, how we were playing hard, how we were winning battles. We had none of that in the first period. It’s a lesson learned. This league is a tough league. And if you don’t come prepared to play those things are going to happen.”

Winnipeg heads home with a 2-2-0 record to start the season, including 1-2 on a four-day, three time zone road trip which began with a 4-1 loss in Dallas on Monday followed by a 4-3 overtime victory over Colorado on Wednesday.

While fatigue may have been a factor, nobody wanted to use it as an excuse.

“I believe our group could have come in here and won this game. I really do,” said Schmidt. “We showed that we could. We just have to start on time. That’s what hurts. That’s what hurts after the game is over. You know you played a good 40 minutes, but unfortunately it’s not a 40-minute game.”

Backup goalie David Rittich, making his first start with his new team, had a debut to forget. Four of the first 12 shots he faced ended up behind him.

“Frustrating. That’s not how I imagined my first Jets game was going to look like,” said Rittich. “So, I wasn’t happy with the first period about how we played and how I played, obviously. I’m the most hard person on myself. I’m not going to blame myself in front of you. We made some mistakes, some tough bounces, and the game was 4-0.”

The first two goals weren’t on him, but rather bad defensive decisions that proved costly. Jack Eichel opened the scoring at 4:23, converting on a three-on-one that developed with a poorly-timed pinch by Dylan DeMelo. This marked the first time this season Winnipeg didn’t get on the board first.

Another breakdown was to blame for the second goal, with Brenden Dillon and Schmidt both converging in the same corner, leaving William Karlsson all alone in the slot to convert a nice feed from linemate Michael Amadio at 6:11.

Vegas made it 3-0 at 10:07, with Chandler Stephenson making a fairly harmless looking pass attempt that banked right off Dillon’s skate and past a surprised Rittich. Then came the most egregious fourth goal at 15:17, in which defenceman Neal Pionk inexplicably passed the puck back to Rittich, who then put it right on the stick of Eichel who quickly ripped it by him.

“I saw Scheifs (Mark Scheifele) in the middle and thought I’d pass it through the two guys and we’d have a three-on-two or something like that. It just didn’t work out. He made a good shot and scored,” is how Rittich explained it. “I like to play the puck. I have to make a better play. Neal was wide open. I just should have passed to him.”

The Jets did have a couple chances in the first. Pierre-Luc Dubois actually hit the post less than two minutes into the game, and you wonder if fortunes might have changed if not for a couple inches. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby then rang one off the crossbar.

Winnipeg didn’t quit, and played their strongest second period of the young season. Dubois got his first of the year at 7:23 after Pionk took a shot from the point which led to a juicy rebound off the pad of Adin Hill. Cole Perfetti had the other helper.

Pionk then got the Jets to within a pair at 10:34 of the third, going hard to the net and tipping in a pass from Josh Morrissey. It’s his third of the season — and third in two nights after potting a pair against the Avalanche — and also gives him as many goals already this year as he had in 77 games last season.

That’s as close as they would get, with Jonathan Marchessault burying an empty-netter in the final minute to improve Vegas to 4-1-0.

“If you’re going to play as we played the last 40 minutes, we’re going to be a really successful team,” said Rittich. “I think this was a really good lesson for us, to take it and go through it. Thank God it was in the beginning of the year, unfortunately it was my first game. But if we’re going to learn from it, we have to play the full 60 minutes, be ready from the start, and be battling and be ready.”

Rittich finished his night by stopping the last 19 pucks he saw, and 27 of 31 overall.

“We can’t go put Dave in that position, especially on (game) number one,” said Schmidt. “I thought he did a tremendous job the last 40 minutes. He kept us in the game a lot of times. He’s going to want some things back. Guys are going to want plays back. You just can’t have too many guys that want plays back to start a game.”

The Jets now return home for a pair of games at Canada Life Centre, beginning on Saturday night with a visit from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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Injuries are starting to pile up. Forward Nikolaj Ehlers missed a second straight game with a lower-body ailment, and defenceman Dylan Samberg joined him in the infirmary against Vegas. Logan Stanley drew back into the lineup for Samberg, meaning defenceman Kyle Capobianco was the only healthy scratch. Coach Rick Bowness also missed a fourth consecutive contest as he continues to recover from COVID.

“He’s got a lower-body injury. He got hurt (Wednesday) night. We’re not sure where it was at. Hopefully, maybe he’ll be back Saturday,” Arniel said of Samberg.

As for Ehlers? “We’ll talk a little bit more about that maybe on Saturday.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.