Jets fall in season opener

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This article was published 12/10/2023 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — Sometimes it’s the simple plays that end up making the difference.

Late in the game — after the Winnipeg Jets had rallied to tie the score and looked poised to send the game to overtime — veteran defenceman Nate Schmidt shot the puck down the ice at the end of the shift and as it bounced wide of the net, it led to a faceoff in the defensive zone.

A tired Jets line got hemmed in after losing the draw and Elias Lindholm found a soft spot in coverage, scoring what proved to be the game-winner with 1:31 to go in regulation to give the Flames a 5-3 victory.

Schmidt’s attempt to put the puck on net so the group — which had all been on the ice longer than one minute — could change but the plan backfired.

After Rasmus Kupari lost the defensive zone draw, Lindholm spun off the check along the boards by the Jets centre and beat him to the front of the net, burying a pass for an easy tap-in, sending the Jets home without recording a single point.

“Just to give up those points the way we did was disappointing, but (if) we play like that, we are going to win a lot of hockey games,” said Bowness. “The icing hurt, yeah. Late in the game like that and the guys were tired. He’s not trying to ice it. He was either trying to put it on the goalie or just lob it in there. Obviously, it didn’t work either way. That’s hockey.”

The end result stung even more because Mark Scheifele had scored with 5:42 to go in regulation, putting the Jets in position to salvage at least one point.

“I thought we played a really solid game. (Jacob) Markstrom made some pretty unbelievable saves. He held them in there. But (the Jets did) a lot of good things,” said Scheifele. “Obviously it sucks to lose. But you have to take the positives out of that and keep building. We have some more things to work on. That’s what the season is all about. It’s about growing and getting better every game and we’ve just got to take another step.”

The Jets came out strong in the first period, peppering Markstrom, and they ended up with a wide disparity in both shots on goal (37-22) and shot attempts (83-45) compared to the Flames.

That meant the Jets were pretty sound defensively, though several miscues proved costly.

“We battled really hard, showed a lot of compete, did a lot of good things out there,” said Jets left-winger Kyle Connor. “Threw a lot of good pucks at the net, (just a couple of) bounces here and there. I thought our power play looked really good, moving the puck well,

“(If) you play that game in this league, you will win more times than not so I think we take the positives away from that game and move on.”

Although the Jets lost the special teams battle 2-0 (giving up a power play marker in the first period and a shorthanded goal to Rasmus Andersson in the second), the Jets moved the puck efficiently and generated a ton of high-danger scoring chances with the man-advantage — despite finishing zero-for-four.

“We read off each other very well. A lot of good adjustments off the faceoff as well,” said Connor. “(Josh Morrissey) walks up the middle, he’s got me off the boards, they start coming up with that D-man on me and he pops (Scheifele) in the middle. So, I think, a lot of good adjustments, just taking the play that is there and given. The structure that we have, yeah we know what’s in place, but (it’s) also playing hockey. Just making the right reads and taking the ice that is given and we’re putting pucks on the net. I don’t know how many shots we had, but it felt like every time we touched the ice it was pretty dangerous.”

Let’s take a closer look at what transpired on Wednesday:

1 The trio of forwards acquired by the Jets from the Los Angeles Kings have made a fairly seamless transition during training camp and that theme continued into the opener. Alex Iafallo was a whirling dervish in the contest, showcasing his tenacity throughout. His reward came in the form of a brilliant redirection on his backhand that tied the game 2-2 in the second period. Iafallo was used at even strength, on the first power play unit and also on the penalty kill in his Jets debut.

Gabriel Vilardi looked skyward on several occasions, but if he continues to generate as many high-danger scoring chances as he had on Wednesday, he’s a good bet to set a new career high for goals scored.

2 Jets left-winger Kyle Connor used an impressive sneak attack to even the score at 1-1 on what looked like a harmless play. After the Jets executed a D-to-D pass, Dylan Samberg found Connor at the offensive blue line with a stretch pass. Connor used a subtle stop-and-go to delay and get to the middle of the ice, creating a screen and a shooting lane through the legs of Flames D-man Jordan Oesterle. Markstrom got a piece of the shot, but it slithered through his pads and across the goal line.

It’s a goal that Markstrom wouldn’t have been happy with, considering the location of the shot from just inside the blue line. But it doesn’t happen without the smarts shown by Connor. The marker allowed Connor to tie an NHL record by scoring in his sixth consecutive season opener. Connor still finished second in goals (31) on the Jets last season, behind Scheifele’s 42, but if he can get back into the 40-plus range, it should bode well for the Jets offensive attack looking to replace the 44 goals produced by P-L Dubois and Blake Wheeler last season.

3 After missing all six preseason games with neck spasms, Nikolaj Ehlers had some rust to shake off as he suited up in the season opener against the Flames. Skating on the Jets second line with Cole Perfetti and Nino Niederreiter, there were some moments that showed enormous potential. Now it’s about getting reps at game action so that the trio gets used to each other’s tendencies. After Andrew Mangiapane scored an empty-netter, Ehlers appeared to be in discomfort as he left the ice.

4 There was plenty of emotion in the building prior to puck drop as Kelsie Snow and her two children were on hand as the Flames honoured Chris Snow, who passed away earlier this month after his couragous battle with ALS.

Snow, a former sports writer who eventually became the assistant GM of the Flames, was beloved throughout the hockey community and beyond and he will be deeply missed by many. The newly-minted captains for both clubs, Adam Lowry of the Jets and Mikael Backlund, took part in the ceremonial puck drop. In what was more than just a symbolic gesture, both captains stayed on the ice to be in the starting lineup, representing a new direction for clubs that went without a captain last season. The moment was all the more special for Lowry, who spent a lot of his development time in Calgary and still lives there in the offseason.

5 The Jets are set for their home opener on Saturday afternoon against Paul Maurice and the Florida Panthers, who reached the Stanley Cup final in June before losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Panthers are set to open their season tonight at Xcel Energy Center against the Minnesota Wild.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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