Flyers faster, more desperate in 3-1 win over Jets

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This article was published 28/01/2019 (2413 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PHILADELPHIA — How much can you fix during a 65-minute flight?

The Winnipeg Jets had almost no time to dissect Monday night’s ugly performance at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The NHL club was on a charter flight bound for Boston, likely before Flyers fans even reached their favourite watering holes to celebrate a 3-1 victory.

Philadelphia’s young goaltending phenom, Carter Hart, backstopped his team to its fourth straight victory, posting a solid 31-save effort.

The Flyers (20-23-6) passed their first test after an eight-day respite from the rigours of the regular season. The Jets (31-16-2), also coming off the bye week and all-star break, looked like they were running on fumes instead of a full tank.

Poor decisions. Sluggish legs. Bungling hands. That pretty much summed up Game 49 for the Central Division-leading Jets, still tied with the Nashville Predators but with three games in hand.

“No traffic in front. The grade-A (chances) we had (Hart) made some big saves, but we didn’t really do a whole lot. We didn’t do enough to generate time and space tonight,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “I mean they were rusty, too, coming off the break. We just didn’t play a particularly good game tonight.”

Winnipeg’s premier offensive performers had tough nights. Mark Scheifele and Wheeler were, for the most part, out of sync, while Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine were only visible because of their inability to win puck battles along the wall.

Third-line workhorses Adam Lowry, Brandon Tanev and Mathieu Perreault created some havoc deep in enemy territory but couldn’t get the puck to the crease.

Starting goalie Laurent Brossoit was the lone bright spot for the visitors. He made some timely saves and finished with 28 stops while getting tagged with just his second loss in 12 starts.

Brossoit was blameless on second-period goals by Phil Varone and Travis Konecny, both generated on deflections. And he had no chance on James van Riemsdyk’s third-period tally that sealed the win after a brilliant give and go with Konecny.

“A couple of tips, not much you can do there. That third one, it is what it is. That happens every once in a while and they made a good play on it,” said Brossoit.

Neither team was crisp during a bland, scoreless opening period.

The only excitement came with the Jets on a late power-play opportunity, as the Jets moved the puck effectively and set the table for their shooters. But Hart stopped Scheifele from close range and then turned aside a pair of shots from Laine just seconds later.

It was a sign of things to come for the talented 21-year-old netminder, who has assumed a strong grip on the starting job in Philadelphia, a wasteland for goalies for several seasons. 

“He made three big saves but it was a big moment for us, too, because we haven’t looked like that on our power play a whole lot,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice.

Indeed, the Jets’ work with the man advantage was the only redeeming portion of their overall performance.

Down 1-0 midway through the second period, the Jets’ second unit notched the equalizer as Jack Roslovic, cruising through the slot, redirected a shot from pointman Jacob Trouba. Roslovic’s third goal of the season snapped an 0-for-24 stretch on the road for the Jets’ power-play personnel.

But Konecny regained the lead for Philadelphia with just 1:14 left in the middle frame.

All three Flyers goals game with the clubs at even strength.

“We got into that second period and we got bogged down in the neutral zone by our own decisions,” said Maurice. “We had three or four pucks where it’s not even about getting it deep, it’s about keeping your speed and we ended up spending more time in our end on those plays.

“At the end of the day, in the offensive zone we were on the outside far too often and didn’t get enough of those pucks to the net.”

The Jets have no time to wallow as a date with the always-edgy Bruins awaits them tonight at TD Garden. Winnipeg will try to avoid its first three-game losing streak of season.

Before the break, Winnipeg was good for about 16 of 60 minutes, all coming in a desperate third-period rally that, ultimately, fell short, in a sloppy 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. 

The battle with the Bruins (27-17-5) does offer Winnipeg a shot at redemption before the squad returns home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

“Just come out and execute right off the bat,” said defenceman Josh Morrissey. “We’re on a back-to-back, so even though we just had some rest… be ready to come out with short shifts and do what we can to prepare over the next 21 hours or whatever it is until we play, execute to our strengths for a full 60 minutes.

“I probably just dropped five clichés there but that’s really what we have to do.”

Varone, the AHL’s most valuable player last season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, batted in a rebound after a point blast by Christian Folin was redirected by Micheal Raffl. 

Folin was supposed to be a healthy scratch but suited up when Shayne Gostisbehere came up lame during the pre-game warm-up.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell