Jets finding ways to lose

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This article was published 29/11/2024 (312 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LAS VEGAS — Now the Winnipeg Jets are finding ways to lose hard-fought hockey games after a torrid start to the season where we came to expect the opposite.

Take Friday night, for example, when several self-inflicted wounds — including a late-game dagger — ultimately proved costly in a 4-3 defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

Manitoba’s Brett Howden scored his second of the night with 4:05 left in regulation, taking advantage of some blown coverage to break a tie and send the home team on its way to victory.

It was the third goal the Jets surrendered off the rush, which isn’t exactly a recipe for success.

“I’m not taking anything away from their ability to make plays. But we had all our numbers there. We had everybody there, we just picked up the wrong people and easy tap-in, empty-net goal,” said coach Scott Arniel, who was still trying to view the glass as half-full, rather than half-empty.

“So learn from that and make sure that we’ll talk about it and move on. But I liked a lot of what we did. I liked our compete and I liked the way, no matter how sort of the score changed, we kind of kept coming and kept coming.”

Winnipeg falls to 18-6-0, including 2-3-0 on this season-long six-game road trip. Vegas improves to 15-6-3.

DROUGHT ENDS AT A DOZEN: Cole Perfetti was certain his luck was about to change.

Speaking with the Free Press earlier this week in Los Angeles, the young Jets forward said he wasn’t discouraged by a scoring drought that had entered double digits in games since he was still getting quality chances. Later that night, facing the Kings, he hit yet another post and came away empty for an 11th straight outing.

There was nothing but net for Perfetti on Friday as he got a stick on a Josh Morrissey shot, beating Vegas goaltender Adin Hill for his long-awaited fifth goal of the year 6:57 into the game to make it 1-0 for the visitors. Nikolaj Ehlers drew the other assist, making a great zone entry with the puck, getting his own rebound off an initial shot attempt and then passing off to Morrissey.

“It felt really good to score. That’s kind of what I figured it was going to be like after the drought. I figured it was going to be a greasy one, and it was,” said Perfetti.

He really appeared prophetic when he struck against at 14:28 of the second period to tie the game 2-2. Vlad Namestnikov won a defensive zone faceoff, and Morrissey immediately grabbed the puck with speed to create a three-on-two rush.

With Alex Iafallo driving the net, Morrissey took a shot which was stopped by Hill. However, a juicy rebound ended up right on the suddenly red-hot stick of Perfetti, who buried it for his sixth of the year.

“One, the confidence. Two, sometimes just the puck luck kind of goes your way,” Perfetti explained.

“You’re on that in the last 10 games, nothing comes to you. But then tonight, you’re feeling yourself, and the puck comes right to you, and then you don’t even think twice. On a personal note that feels good, but it sucks to lose when you play that strong as a team and everyone’s working really, really hard.”

OH MY, FLY: It was an innocent-enough looking play, with Ehlers throwing a bodycheck on Vegas forward Pavel Dorofeyev in the second period. It had an awkward result, with Ehlers falling back on his left leg and appearing to injure something.

He immediately left the ice — the Jets were on the power play at the time — and slammed his stick in frustration, sitting on the bench for a minute hunched over before going down the tunnel with team trainers.

Iafallo took his spot on the second line with Perfetti and Namestnikov, when Ehlers did not return. Any extended absence would be a big loss for a team already without shutdown defenceman Dylan Samberg, who suffered a broken foot last Saturday in Nashville blocking a Steven Stamkos shot.

“He’s day-to-day. Not good, obviously,” said Arniel. “We’ll just wait and see and get him looked at. We’ll get to Dallas and see where we’re at. I don’t know 100 per cent. Lower body right now and we’ll just see how he is (on Saturday) and after that.”

BOLD MOVES: Arniel gave his blue-line a major makeover, replacing the third pair by inserting Logan Stanley and Dylan Coghlan into the lineup and making Ville Heinola and Colin Miller healthy scratches. Stanley hadn’t played since suffering a mid-body injury on Nov. 9, while Coghlan was making his Jets debut after being parked in the press box for the first 23 games.

Safe to say the moves had mixed results.

Coghlan didn’t look out of place and made a great play early in the game to swat away a loose puck in the Winnipeg crease that was likely going to end up as a Vegas goal. Stanley, however, struggled at times with his reads and his speed, especially late in the opening frame when a Morgan Barron turnover in the Golden Knights zone ended up on the stick of Howden, who blew past a flat-footed Stanley for a breakaway and beat Eric Comrie on the deke.

Winnipeg had been pressing to make it 2-0, but in the blink of an eye it was a 1-1 game.

Still reeling from that turn of events, the Jets allowed an all-too-easy Vegas zone entry that ended up with Ivan Barbashev scoring with 16 seconds left before the intermission. Comrie had stopped the initial one-timer from Dorofeyev, which came off a nice Jack Eichel feed.

“The biggest thing is some fresh legs, just because it’s been such a grind here and just came off the four-in-six and the long travel from Minny,” said Arniel.

“Stan was back, ready to go, and we need him to be a part of our group. And Cogs had played here before, just wanted to get like I said some fresh legs in there. I thought those two were fine. The one goal, but not so much them on that one. It had a lot more to do with our turnover. But liked a lot of what they did. Anytime guys go in they’re a little bit rusty but I thought they got stronger as the game moved along.”

CALM IN NET – Seeing him get the start may have come as a surprise, but it speaks to both the faith the Jets have in Comrie and also their desire to ensure Connor Hellebuyck is adequately rested during the season.

Hellebuyck had faced plenty of rubber this week — 44 shots in Minnesota and then 33 in Los Angeles — so it made sense to give him the night off especially with two more divisional games coming up next.

Comrie made several outstanding stops, including a reflexive toe save off a deflected puck in the first period and a great glove denial of a William Karlsson tip late in the second period. Another grab of a Dorofoyev shot with exactly five minutes left in regulation was significant, too.

However, he couldn’t cover for all the faults of his teammates as he suffered the hard-luck loss, his third in a row after starting the season with three consecutive victories.

“I felt okay. I felt like I stuck to my process pretty well. It’s one you want to get at least a point in,” Comrie said of his game, which involved stopping 26 of 30 shots.

As for the game-winner?

“It’s just an unfortunate play,” said Comrie. “Karlsson made a good pass (to Howden), made a good play. Maybe I could have read it a little better and got over. It’s a good play.”

THIRD PERIOD SWINGS: With the game up for grabs in the final frame, the Jets were guilty of some puck watching as Eichel fed Barbashev all alone in the slot for his second of the night to make it 3-2 Vegas at 4:43.

Back came the Jets, as Neal Pionk’s wrist shot made its way through traffic and beat a surprised Hill at 8:55 to tie it 3-3. It’s the fourth of the year for the Jets defenceman, who is in the final year of his contract and on pace for career offensive highs. A classic example of why it’s never a bad idea to put pucks on the net.

Ultimately it went for naught as Howden played the role of hockey hero to seal the deal. Namestnikov failed to get to him in time.

“I thought our compete and our battle tonight was really good,” said Arniel. “Lots of stretches there where we hemmed them in their end of the rink, had some real good opportunities. We got down and came back. We had some unreal looks there at the end with the goalie out, and their goaltender made some big stops.”

SPECIAL PLAYERS, SPECIAL TEAMS: No doubt Kyle Connor is looking forward to having Eichel as a teammate, rather than an opponent. Connor, who may be projected to be a linemate of Eichel’s on Team USA at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, took two minor penalties in the opening period while trying to chase down Eichel, who can protect the puck as well as anyone in the league.

Fortunately for the 2022 Lady Byng winner, the Jets killed both off.

Winnipeg then got its first chance with the man advantage later in the period, while enjoying the 1-0 lead, but couldn’t build on it. Another chance in the middle frame came up empty, too, as did a final attempt late in the third period with Comrie out for an extra attacker and the Jets with a six-on-four advantage.

The Jets began the game with the top power play unit in the league, but it failed to come through on this night.

KEY PLAY: Howden’s backdoor tap-in late in the third period was the difference.

THREE STARS:

1. Vegas C Brett Howden: 2 goals;
2. Winnipeg F Cole Perfetti: 2 goals;
3. Vegas C Ivan Barbashev: 2 goals.

EXTRA, EXTRA: Forward David Gustafsson was a healthy scratch for the 23rd time in 24 games.

The Jets flew to Texas following the game and will practice on Saturday to prepare for Sunday afternoon’s meeting with the Dallas Stars.

“Going into this road trip. I think that would have been the bare minimum, going .500,” said Perfetti.

“And we have a chance to do it, so we’ve got to make sure that we are ready come Sunday afternoon, and I think we will be I think we know how much that game is going to mean and then, carry the momentum going home.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg