Status quo clearly not enough

With each passing game — and each mounting loss — the biggest question surrounding the Winnipeg Jets grows louder:

At what point will enough be enough?

Look, Monday’s 3-1 setback to the Edmonton Oilers before a sold-out crowd at Canada Life Centre would be perfectly acceptable in its own little bubble. The Jets played a strong overall game, outshooting the visitors by a whopping 42-21 margin and doing many of the things that will land you on the right side of the final score more nights than not.

A legitimate argument can be made Winnipeg deserved better.

Some big-picture context is required here. The Jets are long past the point of moral victories, a reality underscored by the fact this group has now dropped 19 of its last 25 games overall (6-15-4).

“I can’t criticize the effort. I can’t criticize the battle,” said an obviously frustrated Jets head coach Scott Arniel.

“The opportunities, the game plan that we threw at them against their elite players. All of those things I asked them to do, they did it. At the end of the day, we’re not getting points and that’s the most important thing.”

All of which begs another burning question: What, if any, changes will be made to pull this team out of what has become an embarrassing tailspin? The need for help is obvious. The status quo is not nearly good enough to compete, certainly not in a results-oriented “what have you done for me lately” business.

Winnipeg is now 15-18-4 on the year, leaving them one point removed from dead last in the NHL standings at press time. Edmonton, seeking a third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final, improves to 20-14-6.

“Sooner or later, this has to fall. These goals have to come,” Arniel said of his team’s offensive woes, including the fact numerous forwards are in lengthy slumps.

“For me, the process, I can keep saying that, but at the end of the day, just keep doing what we’re doing. Hopefully we can score some goals and we can get some points.”

PLUCKY PICKARD: Tip your hat to Winnipeg’s Calvin Pickard, who served notice Monday night he’s not ready to give up his NHL job just yet.

With trade addition Tristan Jarry now with the Oilers (albeit currently dealing with an injury) and reclamation project Connor Ingram up with the big club, there’s been plenty of speculation Pickard’s days in Edmonton could be numbered. A potential demotion to the American Hockey League might be looming.

The 33-year-old, who began the night with three wins in 13 games, a bloated 3.93 goals-against-average and an ugly .861 save-percentage, was sensational in this outing. Pickard made 41 stops and, if nothing else, certainly increased the odds another team would claim him on waivers or perhaps even give up an asset and trade for him.

“Played a heck of a game,” said Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg. “You know, it is what it is. You’re gonna run into a hot goalie at one point. We wish we could have found the back of the net more than once.”

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Jets had 18 high-danger chances and 4.46 expected goals in the game, yet only managed to sneak one puck by him.

“Had a couple of early ones, got into it. It was consistent. There was no, like, lulls in the game. They kept shooting, they kept coming,” said Pickard.

“We did a pretty good job keeping them to the outside. Their power play got some looks, had to make some saves there, but it was just one of those games. They were great and you’ve got to give them credit and they played well. I needed to be good and we defended well, as well.”

He was asked post-game what was in his Christmas turkey to inspire such a performance.

“No turkey. Steak, ham, perogies, rice, Caesar salad. It was a Pickard special,” he replied.

SEASON’S BEATINGS: Raise your hand if you had a fight between Jets defenceman Neal Pionk and Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on your personal Bingo card.

Yeah, we didn’t think so.

Sure enough, the two veterans dropped the gloves midway through the first period, causing plenty of observers to do a double-take at what they were witnessing.

It appears Nugent-Hopkins was angered by a hit Pionk had just thrown on him and decided to take matters into his own hands, quite literally. It was a spirited scrap that helped set the stage for a fairly physical affair, with Winnipeg ultimately outhitting Edmonton by a 32-22 margin.

COSTLY MISTAKES: When things aren’t going well, even the smallest mistakes can quickly become magnified. That was certainly the case in this one.

The Jets had largely dominated the first half of the game, yet found themselves in a 1-0 deficit when Logan Stanley passed the puck from behind his own net directly onto the stick of Oilers forward Max Jones, who no doubt appreciated the belated Christmas gift as he buried his first of the year behind a surprised Connor Hellebuyck.

A few minutes later, with the Jets having already failed on three man-advantage chances of their own, Samberg tripped up Leon Draisaitl and gave the league’s top power play a chance to go to work.

Sure enough, Winnipeg’s only minor penalty of the night proved costly as old friend Jack Roslovic ripped a shot past Hellebuyck to make it 2-0.

CAPTAIN’S LAMENT: It was a big night for Adam Lowry, who became the fourth player in Jets 2.0 history to play 800 games for the franchise. Just like Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little did before him, Lowry marked the occasion by hitting the scoresheet.

His rebound goal at 5:46 of the third period cut Winnipeg’s deficit in half and inspired hope a comeback might be in the cards.

“It’s no secret secondary scoring has really been an issue for us. So I felt like it helped bring the building to life,” said Lowry, who has struggled to produce offence since returning from off-season hip surgery with just two goals and four assists in 26 games.

“But I would trade that for a win.”

Zach Hyman sealed the Edmonton victory when he scored into an empty net with 83 seconds left in the game. Connor McDavid assisted in the goal, which extended his point streak to 13 games (13 goals, 20 assists)

To put that in perspective, the Jets have scored a total of 31 goals so far in December. McDavid has been involved in 33 Edmonton goals this month.

“The results are going to follow if we can continue with efforts like those,” said Lowry, who believes outside help isn’t necessarily required at this point.

“I think it’s in here. We look at the contributions of certain guys in this room and what they’ve done in the past, they have long track records of producing offensively, good secondary rates. I think the chances, the posts, the looks we have, eventually the dam’s going to break and you’re going to get them, and then it seems like scoring comes in bunches.”

KEY PLAY: The Roslovic goal — his 11th in just 27 games this season — proved to be the difference.

THREE STARS:

1. Oilers G Calvin Pickard: 41 saves

2. Oilers C Jack Roslovic: Game-winning goal

3. Jets C Morgan Barron: 1 assist

EXTRA EXTRA: Veteran forward Andrew Mangiapane was a surprising late scratch for the Oilers, who signed him to a two-year free agent contract on July 1. Reports are now circulating a trade could be imminent.

Mangiapane has 11 points (5G, 6A) in 39 games this year and is a team-worst minus-16. He is someone the Jets showed interest in this past summer before he ended up in Edmonton, so perhaps a team looking for some secondary scoring of their own could circle back and see if there could be a deal to be made at some point.

Winnipeg’s healthy scratches were defencemen Colin Miller and Haydn Fleury and forward Cole Koepke.

The Jets have now sold out two home games in a row, and four on the season. They haven’t given fans a ton to cheer for, going just 8-8-2 through 18 games at the downtown barn.

Next up is a three-game road trip which begins Wednesday in Detroit. Winnipeg is just 7-10-2 in enemy territory.

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