Ducks ground Jets 4-1

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This article was published 03/01/2016 (3565 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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ANAHEIM, CALIF. — There’s a rather famous amusement park just down the road from the Honda Center, featuring every imaginable ride to thrill patrons with climbs and drops so dramatic it might even bring many to spit up their breakfast, lunch and dinner.

All of which brings us to the Winnipeg Jets, who followed up Saturday’s solid win over the San Jose Sharks with a dreadful performance in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks in front of a sellout crowd of 17,174 that was the equivalent of a freefall from the tip of Mount Everest straight down, down, down (sickness bags not included).

As a result, the Jets — who were hoping to use this five-game road trip through the Western Conference as a chance to get some traction for a launch into the playoff discussion — are now 1-2 instead with stops upcoming in Nashville and Dallas.

The loss drops them to 18-19-2, seven points out of the second Wildcard spot in the West and just five ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets for last overall.

EXECUTIVE NET DECISION

Connor Hellebuyck was the best player on the ice in the win over San Jose, but Jets coach Paul Maurice opted to tap Michael Hutchinson on the shoulder for the start a night later against the Ducks.

The decision is easy to second guess — Hutchinson was winless in his last five starts heading in and is now 1-9-1 in his last 11 after starting the year 4-0. But the rationale behind the move also had some — heavy emphasis on ‘some’ — merit. The Jets were playing on back-to-back nights and wind up their trip with dates with the Predators and Stars, and Hellebuyck is likely to get the call in both.

But while Hutchinson could have sued the Jets for abandonment in the first period — Anaheim owned the puck with 14 shots, six more missed and had four blocked — he also looks like a mere shadow of the goaltender who wrestled the starting chores away from Ondrej Pavelec this time a year ago.

Indeed, if this was a crossroads game for Hutchinson — Ondrej Pavelec is on the trip and while not skating, is inching closer to a return — then it might be awhile before the young netminder gets another start. He has given up 33 goals in his last 10 starts and since opening eyes with a 14-4-2 run up to last year’s all-star game, is just 12-15-4.

THE SPECIALS NIGHTMARE RETURNS

The Jets rode a steady performance from their special teams to the win over San Jose with shorthanded and power-play goals, but were back to their old form against the Ducks. And their old form is ugly. The Ducks were 2-for-2 with the man advantage — that’s 18 against in the Jets last 13 road games — while the power-play was 0-for-4. The Jets are now just 4-for-45 on the power-play in their last 13 away from home.

SCHEIFELE RETURNS

The Jets did get some welcome news earlier in the day, activating Mark Scheifele from the injured list after he had missed four games after suffering a concussion in collision with Andrew Ladd in practice on Boxing Day. Scheifele’s return meant Matt Halischuk was returned to the Moose after seven games with the big club and was a vote of confidence for Finnish rookie Joel Armia, who potted his first NHL goal against the Sharks.

Scheifele opened the game centreing a line that featured Mathieu Perreault and Nikolaj Ehlers on the wings, with Chris Thorburn moving down to the fourth with Andrew Copp and Armia. The Jets No. 2 pivot had been scorching before the injury with nine points in nine games, but looked rusty against the Ducks, finishing with four shots in 17 minutes and 33 second of ice time.

But with the results so poor from the Jets, Maurice had his line blender cranked up again as the game progressed as he reunited Ladd with Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little, moving Stafford into Ehlers spot with Scheifele and Perreault. Expect that experimentation to continue in Tennessee and Texas in the last two games of the trip.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait