Jets rediscovered scoring touch in shootout loss to Kings

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This article was published 01/03/2023 (921 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Jets were unable to secure two valuable points in a loss to the L.A. Kings on Tuesday, settling for just one. They did find something that’s been missing for some time: their scoring touch.

The Jets scored five goals but also surrendered the same to the Kings, who went on to win in a shootout. It was the first time the Jets had scored five goals in a game since beating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 on Jan. 22.

In the 16 games prior, the Jets had scored just 33 goals — an average of just more than two goals a game — leaving many to question, given how talented the Jets roster is up front, what was wrong with Winnipeg’s attack.

“Listen, we can score. We showed that earlier (in the year). We got into a scoring slump for a while,” Jets head coach Rick Bowness said after Wednesday’s practice. “All it showed last night was when we start shooting the puck more, like we did last night, the puck is eventually going to go in for you.

“We had a 2-on-0 with our best players last night and we didn’t get a shot on net. That could be the difference in the outcome of a game too. That stuff happens. The most important thing is what we talked about yesterday morning and practice today: Drive the net, shoot the puck, drive the net. We keep doing that, then the results are going to be there.”

The Jets spent much of their workout Wednesday running game-like situations that forced some quick thinking, such as odd-man rushes of 2-on-1 and 3-on-2. Bowness was back to barking orders, much as he did earlier this week following losses to the Colorado Avalanche and New York Islanders. The Jets were outscored 9-1 in those two games.

Part of the problem is the Jets have often been trying to score the perfect goal, leading to one too many passes and ultimately broken plays. Or they’ve struggled to hit the net all together, firing shots wide and high despite having time and space.

Bowness said he’s gone over film with all his players, notably his elite scorers, which include the likes of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois. They see the same issues and have vowed to put in the work to fix them.

“Sometimes that’s all it is, you’re trying to make one too many passes. Instead of a shooting mentality, a drive the net mentality, which we had last night. So, we’ve been pounding that,” said Bowness. “When you’re on the ice, things happen a lot quicker out there. Sometimes you have more time than you realize to shoot it, sometimes you’re passing it to someone you think is open and then they’re covered.

“That’s what happens when you’re not scoring goals, those decisions, and you can tell they’re just off a little bit. But when you have that shooting and attack the net mentality, then everyone knows where the puck is going, and you try to avoid those too many passes.”

Connor leads the Jets in points, with 67 in 61 games, and his 27 goals is second to only Mark Scheifele’s 34. The Jets top-line winger said there’s a sense of urgency to fixing what has affected the team’s ability to score and that it’s not simply something to wait out in order to improve.

“There’s definitely something more, like you can’t just sit back and go about your business and say it’s only a matter of time,” Connor told the Free Press. “We’ve changed things. Quite frankly, I thought we were going to have a day off today. (Bowness) has kind of changed things in a sense where we practised 50 minutes today after playing a game that went to overtime and a shootout. It’s about trying to get out of your comfort zone.

“We’re trying to push out of our comfort zone and grow. We have confidence that we’re going to get out of it but at the same time we’ve got to change what we’ve been doing. I think we’ve done that for the best.”

Injury update: Dubois remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He missed Tuesday’s loss to the Kings but could return to practice on Thursday and join the Jets on the road for their tilt against the Edmonton Oilers Friday night.

Forward Mason Appleton remains sidelined with an upper-body injury. Bowness said he was being re-evaluated and would provide another update later this week.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton