Match penalty the turning point as Pens blank slumping Jets

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This article was published 06/02/2024 (612 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PITTSBURGH — Game, set, match penalty.

It was as simple — and as ugly — as that on Tuesday night for the Winnipeg Jets, as a five-minute sentence and game ejection to veteran defenceman Brenden Dillon proved to be the difference in a 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.

The home side, no doubt angered at losing forward Noel Acciari to injury on the play, scored twice on the extended man advantage and rode the momentum to victory.

“Five minutes is a long time,” Neal Pionk said of the punishment for his blue-line partner’s crime. “They got a couple of bounces but, at the end of the day, our kill’s gotta get the job done. They beat us in special teams tonight, plain and simple.”

Winnipeg is now mired in a season-high four-game winless streak (0-3-1) that likely feels even longer given that a nine-day NHL player break and All-Star break was mixed in. Overall, they sit at 30-13-5. Pittsburgh, fighting for its playoff lives, improves to 23-17-7.

“That stat means absolutely nothing,” centre Mark Scheifele said of any suggestion his squad is now officially in a slump.

“You know, we had a lot of good chances . A new player in our lineup, a lot of new looks and going on to five (defencemen) early in the game like that is obviously tough. But we made a lot of good plays and don’t spend much time thinking about those stupid stats.”

He may not, but we’re going to spend a little more time digging into this one.

1) WHAT THE DILLY?: Dillon’s hellacious hit on Acciari left the Pittsburgh centre in a bad way 4:15 into the second period.

Sure, the Jets were already down 1-0, courtesy of a Kris Letang backhander goal in the opening frame, but they had come out strong to start the second and were carrying play, including back-to-back extended offensive zone shifts.

It seemed like only a matter of time until they beat Tristan Jarry. And then, disaster struck.

Dillon’s intentions likely weren’t malicious, but the end result was extreme. Acciari took a direct shoulder to his head, sending his helmet flying and appearing to be knocked out instantly. He then fell face-first on the ice, attempted to get up and dropped back down. Bloodied and clearly confused, he had to be helped off the ice and didn’t return.

The call on the ice was a match penalty for illegal check to the head, and it was upheld after an automatic video review.

“The referees made the call and unfortunately it didn’t go our way with that call,” is how coach Rick Bowness assessed it,.

Dillon plays a hard-nose style and only has one suspension in his career — a one-game ban for slashing back in 2017. He’s likely going to be getting a call on Wednesday from the department of player safety.

“You know, obviously Dilly’s a heart and soul guy, he’s a guy that plays hard, he’s physical,” said Scheifele.

“He’s a physical guy, he’s just always played solid and obviously tough situation. You never want to see anyone, anyone go down your team or theirs. But you know, Dilly’s a very upstanding guy.”

Pionk, who never shies away from stepping into an opponent, was asked for his thoughts on the hit.

“I like the way he plays. He plays hard and I hope he keeps playing that way,” he said.

2) STINKY SPECIAL TEAMS STRIKE AGAIN: The Penguins began the night, with the second-worst power play in the NHL (ahead of only the lowly Chicago Blackhawks) and in a 1-for-24 rut. But the Jets and their struggling penalty kill have a way of getting teams out of a funk.

Winnipeg actually did well for the first half of the Dillon major, with no real dangerous chances against.

However, the dam eventually burst as Jeff Carter scored on the doorstep with 1:42 left the power play, and then Bryan Rust followed up during a net-front scramble with a dozen seconds remaining in the extended five-on-four.

At the other side of the ice, Winnipeg’s power play went 0-for-2 and now is just 2 for its last 34 chances spanning the last 10 games.

Add it all up, and the Jets were in a big hole. Which seemed even bigger because…

3) WHERE HAS ALL THE OFFENCE GONE? The Jets came into game with just nine goals to show for the last six outings. Make it nine in seven now, which isn’t nearly good enough despite the rock-solid defensive structure they typically play with.

Yes, Jarry was terrific in stopping all 24 shots he faced. Cole Perfetti, Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry all had high quality chances to score. And yes, he even got a little help from video review midway through the third period, when Scheifele slid a puck by him only to have it wiped off by an offside challenge.

“I knew it was close,” said Scheifele. “I even asked ‘Was that offside’ in the pile. Obviously it was.”

Pionk called it “deflating”, as there was ample time to get back into the game.

“Game of inches,” he said. “It’s frustrating. It doesn’t really affect the play. (Morrissey) made a great play to Scheif and it goes in. We get a little jump in our step and it gets taken away with the review, so it is what it is.”

So what exactly is the problem when it comes to lighting the lamp lately?

“We had enough good looks to crawl back into that game,” said Bowness.

“The similarity in the four games right now (without a win) is our inability to score. We’re not getting outworked. We’re not getting outplayed. We’re just not scoring right now. The offence is a little bit out of sync. Mark needs a couple of games. Sean (Monahan) needs a couple of games. We’re going to be fine. We’ll be alright.”

Pionk believes his club has become a little too “pass happy” lately.

“We’ve got to settle the puck down and get some quality shots,” he said. “We’re a little scrambly right now so it’s on us. We have no one to blame but ourselves.”

4) THE NEW GUY: Monahan, acquired last week from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a first-round draft pick, made his debut with the Jets and beat Sidney Crosby on the opening faceoff. Not a bad start.

His line, with Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers, had a combined five shots on goal and 14 attempts while each playing close to 16 minutes.

Of Winnipeg’s four centres, Monahan had the best night in the dot going three-for-five (60 per cent). Scheifele (40 per cent), Lowry (27 per cent) and Vlad Namestnikov (29 per cent) had a much more difficult time

“I liked his game. He uses his wingers well,” said Bowness.

“He makes really smart plays with the puck. He’s reliable. Again, for his first game and after a break, I’m very happy with his game.”

5) THE FINAL WORDS: Connor Hellebuyck stopped 24 of 27 shots he faced in a losing effort.

Forwards Rasmus Kupari and Dominic Toninato and defenceman Logan Stanley were the healthy scratches. The Jets also placed winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby on waivers Tuesday in order to activate Scheifele off injured reserve. He will be assigned to the Manitoba Moose if no other team makes a claim by Wednesday afternoon.

Centre David Gustafsson is now the lone player on IR.

The Jets flew to Philadelphia after the game and will hold a practice Wednesday ahead of facing the Flyers on Thursday night.

“We have a veteran group here. Over 82 games, it’s going to happen,” Pionk said of the current situation.

“This happens to the best teams in the league. It wasn’t an awful game by any means. We did some good things so we’ll clean up the bad things and we’ll pull together. We’ll stick together — that’s the most important thing — and we’ll push through it.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg