Jets in hot water after 3-1 loss to Calgary Flames

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This article was published 05/04/2023 (887 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The plot thickens. And so, too, does the playoff race.

Faced with a golden opportunity to snuff out the Calgary Flames and solidify their own postseason hopes Wednesday night, the Winnipeg Jets suffered a significant stumble. A 3-1 setback to their former Smythe Division rivals leaves the clubs in a dead-heat for the final Western Conference wildcard spot.

Winnipeg (43-32-3) does have the benefit of a game in hand on top of owning the tiebreaker over Calgary (37-27-15). In that sense, this was a potentially season-saving triumph for the Flames. But the loss no doubt stings for the Jets, especially since they struck first on the night and had the benefit of facing a tired opponent that had played (and lost) the night before at home against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“Well, we’re still in eighth place. That’s where it leaves us,” is how Jets coached Rick Bowness summed it up. “It’s up to us to keep it. That’s where we are.”

This was billed as the biggest game of the regular-season for the Jets and Flames, and it certainly had a playoff-type feel to it. A crowd of 14,077 saw plenty of physicality, tight-checking and a dash of bad blood and controversy for good measure.

But frustrated fans also watched the home team fail to build on its early lead, squander several great scoring chances and allow the visitors to eventually pull away, including a pair of third period goals from two very unlikely scorers that were the difference.

“Disappointment, obviously. A loss is a loss,” said forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.

“But we could be in a worse position. We could be on the outside looking in. We could be the team that played one more game right now and is still tied. The tiebreaker for us is better and we have a game in hand. We are obviously disappointed, like I’m not going to stand here and say that we are happy and thrilled, but we’re still in a good spot being on the inside.”

Here’s a detailed breakdown from our press box perch at Canada Life Centre.

1. Where did all the offence go? A Winnipeg team that had won two straight games, scoring a dozen goals in the process, looked like they were going to rev the engine once again after Kyle Connor opened the scoring at 11:42 of the first period.

His 31st of the year was a beauty, off a terrific Nikolaj Ehlers pass. Dubois drew the second assist, which gave him a career-high 35 helpers on the year. He also tied a career-high with his 61st point while also registering the 300th point of his career. Not too shabby.

Unfortunately for the Jets, that would be the only time they beat Jacob Markstrom. The Calgary netminder stopped 34 of 35 shots. Winnipeg had plenty of chances, including back-to-back shorthanded breakaways by defenceman Nate Schmidt in the second period, and an Ehlers solo dash late in the final frame.

But Markstrom came up big when his team needed it.

“First one, it just jumped over my stick. So I tried to grab it the second time and I think ran out of space,” said Schmidt. “Second one, I feel like I hadn’t made the right move. I just kind of faded out a little too wide.”

2. Calgary looked to tie it just over four minutes into the second period, as Nikita Zadorov scored off a rebound created by a Nick Ritchie breakaway that Connor Hellebyuyck denied. But the Jets challenged for goaltender interference and, following a marathon review, were successful. Replays showed Ritchie made slight contact with Hellebuyck, opening him up just as Zadorov’s shot went through.

“You’re rolling the dice,” admitted Bowness. “We saw the guy bump into Connor and spun him around, so he couldn’t get set for the next shot. It could’ve gone either way, but you have to call it because our goalie got bumped and they scored. Our penalty killers were doing a good job so it was worth the gamble.”

You’d think the Jets might have gained some momentum off that. Instead, Andrew Mangiapane scored just 88 seconds later, and this one counted.

It came following a three-on-one rush by the Jets that was quickly turned around by the Flames into a two-on-one. A turning point, both figuratively and literally.

3. All heck broke loose after the goal, and Dubois was right in the middle of it.

He had made some friends with the Flames early in the night, crushing Rasmus Andersson with a hit less than two minutes into the game that was called boarding. The Calgary defenceman appeared to be shaken up, but was right back out there for the power play — drawing a chorus of boos from the crowd every time he touched the puck the remainder of the night.

On this occasion, Dubois and Markstrom got into it as the play went the other way for the Mangiapane goal. Markstrom took a swipe at him with his blocker, Dubois slashed him back, and Markstrom then squirted water from his bottle on the net.

“That’s hockey. He punched me in the back of the head. I didn’t appreciate it. That’s it,” said Dubois. “(The water), I didn’t really care about that. It’s water. I drink it, shower, like everybody else. It’s just water. I didn’t like the punch in the back of the head.”

A minor melee ensued, with the Jets eventually getting a power play out of it.

“I think there was a lot of stuff going on in the game,” said Schmidt. “A lot of extra curriculars. Guys were fired up about the game. I think both sides were showing it.”

4. Special teams were a major part of this one, with a parade to the penalty box.

Winnipeg ended up going 1-for-4 with the man advantage, while Calgary went 0-for-6.

“We would have preferred to play more five-on-five. You take six penalties in a game like that, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. There’s no question about that. So that’s what’s disappointing,” said Bowness. “That’s not the way we want to play. You want your players to play with emotion and passion. Sometimes it gets a little carried away, I guess.”

5. No doubt the Jets liked where they stood heading into the third, with the chance to win a period and pretty much lock up a playoff spot.

Instead, it was Calgary that came out with the desperation and urgency that was needed.

Walker Duehr gave the Flames the lead at 4:08 of the final frame, as his wraparound attempt appeared to bank in off Schmidt and past Hellebuyck. Zadorov then scored one that wouldn’t get wiped off the board, ripping a wicked wrist shot just under the crossbar at 10:40.

That seemed to drain the life out of the Jets, who couldn’t get any sustained offensive zone time or scoring chances.

“They scored on their chances. One goes on off me, and we get chances, a couple breakaways that we don’t score on,” said Schmidt. “I think there wasn’t a lot of space on the ice really for either team. It’s something that we’re going to want to look at tomorrow and find a way to be better.”

6. UP NEXT: The Jets will host the Nashville Predators on Saturday night in a game that, like this one, will have plenty of intrigue. The Music City squad is just three points behind the Jets and Flames, but they have five games remaining.

“It’s (seems like) that’s what it always comes down to. It’s the reason that you’re grinding for the whole year,” said Schmidt. “It’s a grind for games like this, for the next one. It makes for good storylines.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg