Third-period collapse gets Jets a 5-4 loss to Islanders

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2019 (2354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

That was the pointed message from Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice to his troops Thursday night after they blew a two-goal lead and gave up the tying and winning goals with less than two minutes to play in a disastrous 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders.

“A little bit of respect for the other team, or just the game of hockey. But if you turn that many pucks over, that’s what’s going to happen,” Maurice said in a brief but scathing post-game scrum.

“We’ve taken a game that we had complete control of and invited them back in.”

It’s no surprise the bench boss was so hot. What he witnessed may ultimately cost his club the Central Division crown, or perhaps even home-ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. And this kind of carefree style is not exactly the recipe for a prolonged post-season run.

The Jets blew a golden opportunity to put considerable distance between themselves and Nashville and St. Louis. Now it’s a three-horse race with just more than a week to go in the regular-season schedule. Winnipeg drops to 45-28-4, two points ahead of the Predators and four up on the Blues.

If it felt familiar to fans, that’s because the Jets have pulled a similar stunt several times this season, including at home against the San Jose Sharks earlier this month, blowing a pair of leads and giving up the game-winner with just five seconds left. They’ve now lost eight times this season when leading after two periods.

“I think after the first period we kind of let that game slip away. We were pretty bad in the second period and we were OK in the third for spurts. But they had a lot of zone time and they started to generate chances. They kept skating and we let our foot off the gas, so it’s frustrating,” said forward Adam Lowry, who scored twice and added an assist.

“I think we just got soft on pucks. They started winning all the battles, they started keeping the puck in the zone, they were winning races to the puck and it showed. They started to control the territory on the ice in the second and it continued in the third. They’re a tough team to play against. They never quit, so you have to give them some credit. But it’s certainly disappointing.”

Casey Cizikas scored with 1:46 left in the third period after the Jets repeatedly failed to clear their zone and got trapped on an extended shift. With the hosts still reeling, Jordan Eberle scored the winner just 33 seconds later, with Winnipeg players once again caught flat-footed.

“We got a little loopy, a little careless and they were able to capitalize. When they tie the game, we’ve got to be mature enough to shut the game down and get a point and time to battle it out in overtime or a shootout. We’ve done that a few times now. That’s something we can learn from,” said captain Blake Wheeler.

It was a huge win for the Islanders, who are also in a three-way battle for top spot in the Metropolitan Division. New York improves to 45-26-7, into second place, two points up on the Pittsburgh Penguins and three back of the Washington Capitals.

New York plays a big, heavy game under first-year coach Barry Trotz, and this one had the feel of a playoff-style match from the outset, with plenty of offence mixed in for good measure. That was a bit of a surprise, considering no team has surrendered fewer goals per game this season than the Islanders.

Winnipeg was looking for a solid bounceback after a disappointing 5-2 loss on Monday night to the Dallas Stars, and appeared to be on the right track.

Lowry wasted no time, redirecting a Brandon Tanev wraparound attempt off his skate past goalie Robin Lehner 13 seconds into the game. The goal was Lowry’s 10th of the year, giving Winnipeg 11 different forwards to hit double-digits this season. He did it again at 6:11 of the opening period, this time tipping a Jacob Trouba point shot.

The Islanders cut the deficit in half just past the midway mark of the period, as a poor Mark Scheifele puck decision led to a costly turnover. Mathew Barzal, the flashy New York forward who hadn’t scored in 19 previous games, snuck in behind the Winnipeg defence and beat netminder Connor Hellebuyck with a wrister.

Tanev restored the two-goal lead just 3:46 into the middle frame, taking advantage of two New York players who had their sticks break within seconds of each other. He got the puck in the slot, walked in and ripped a shot past Lehner.

But then penalty troubles caught up to the Jets. A poor line change led to a too many men on the ice infraction, and then Tyler Myers took a needless cross-checking penalty just 28 seconds into the kill.

The Islanders made them pay as Dauphin product Ryan Pulock’s point shot was tipped by Anders Lee on the ensuing five-on-three to make it a one-goal game.

“We encouraged them to stick around. At 3-1, we’re in good shape. We’re right. Then we turn a puck over that we just didn’t need to. We’re half-way through a line change and we’ve got too many men on the ice and that’s what started it going the other way,” said Maurice. “And then we didn’t come up with enough pucks, clear pucks and win those kind of battles that are so important.”

Scheifele appeared to give the Jets some breathing room when he tipped a Trouba blast past Lehner 6:46 into the third period, with the Isles short-handed. It was the top-line centre’s team-leading 36th goal.

But it wouldn’t be enough.

“They’re a good team and they’re fighting for position themselves. We gotta understand that we need to come out and finish that 20 off the right way,” said Tanev, who had two assists to go with his goal.

Eberle brought the visitors back within one at 7:49, knocking home a loose puck during a goal-mouth scramble. And then came the bang-bang goals by Cizikas and Eberle to wrestle two valuable points away from Winnipeg.

“Throughout the course of the game, there are going to be points where the puck doesn’t necessarily go where you want it to go. They did a good job of back-pressuring. We weren’t able to complete the play when we needed to and they were able to keep the puck in the zone and were able to jump on a couple of rebounds,” said Wheeler.

The Jets wrap up the home portion of their regular-season schedule with a Saturday night visit from the Montreal Canadiens, who are fighting for their playoff lives and fell out of a wild-card spot with a loss Thursday. Then it’s on the road for the final four games of the campaign before the playoffs begin.

“I think you move on. We have a great leadership in here and they’ll get us ready for the next one. You look at what we could have done better but at the same time you go to practice with your head held high and move on to the next one,” said Tanev.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg