New year better bring new Jets

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This article was published 01/01/2017 (3490 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TAMPA BAY — With the 2016 calendar ending with such a thud, the Winnipeg Jets, who finished the year with a 6-2 loss to the New York Islanders at home Saturday, will try to kick off 2017 with a bang as they hit the road for a three-game trip.

The Jets (17-19-3) begin the stretch with back-to-back games in Florida, beginning with the Tampa Bay Lightning (19-15-4) Tuesday night, followed by a match against the (16-14-8) Panthers in Sunrise Wednesday, before travelling to colder climes to face the Buffalo Sabres (13-15-8) in a rare Saturday matinee at KeyBank Center.

The team will be without forward Alex Burmistrov, waived Sunday.

Saturday’s loss to the Islanders, coming on the heels of a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets two days earlier, put a major damper on what seemed to be a resurgence for Winnipeg. Prior to those games, the Jets had won four of their last five, including a third consecutive victory over the Chicago Blackhawks this season — a 3-1 triumph on Dec. 27.

Losing that momentum has made for some tough days, especially for a team yet to put together a three-game win streak this season.

“To come home and have the advantage, to play like that tonight is unacceptable,” said Jets forward Shawn Matthias following the loss to Columbus. “We all have to be better — win and lose as a team. Tonight wasn’t our best — we know that. But we can’t get down and frustrated. We have to keep building, keep getting better and improving.”

If the Jets are to turn the page on what’s been a difficult season, they’ll also need to flip their luck against teams in the Eastern Conference. Heading into Sunday’s set of games, they were sixth in the Central Division and three points shy of the Los Angeles Kings — who sill had two games in hand — for the final playoff wild-card spot.

The Jets, who have fared well within their own division, earning points in 10 of 14 games (9-4-1) against teams in the Central, have stumbled against the East, posting a 5-10-2 mark in 16 games and going 3-6-1 in their last 10 dating to early December.

A shoddy record against teams outside their conference isn’t the only thing plaguing the Jets. Other troubling themes include rough showings in the second period. The Jets, who were outscored 2-1 in the middle frame Saturday, have a goal differential of minus 27 in the second period. They also suffer from growing instability in net, and special-teams units that have hurt far more than they’ve helped.

Earlier this week, Jets head coach Paul Maurice was uncharacteristically critical of his goaltenders, wavering when asked who, between Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson, deserved the title of being the team’s No. 1 guy. Instead of committing to the 23-year-old Hellebuyck, who has twice the starts as Hutchinson this season (26 to 13), he stated neither have been deserving of earning the title, adding “I don’t think until you get better than average you can stake claim to a No. 1.”

A Jets’ penalty kill that ranks 27th in the NHL will have its hands full against a Lightning team third in the league on the power play.

Tampa’s success with the man advantage comes despite being without their greatest scoring threat in captain Steven Stamkos, who has been out of the lineup with a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee suffered in a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings Nov. 15 — an absence of 21 games and counting.

The Lightning scored twice on the power play in a 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday, giving them 10 power-play goals in the last 10 games.

“To single something out, and put it first, would be unfair to the other parts of our game,” said Maurice after the loss to the Isles. “We just weren’t very good tonight in almost all facets. There wasn’t enough.”

There needs to be more from the Jets. No time like the present.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton