Jets wrap California road trip with 3-2 loss to Ducks

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This article was published 19/12/2024 (291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In the end, the Winnipeg Jets probably got what they deserved.

But the heartbreaking fashion in which the Jets went home with nothing to show for a third period rally won’t make this any easier to swallow.

In a span of less than five minutes late in the third period, the Jets went from exhilaration to utter disappointment as they dropped a 3-2 decision to the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday at Honda Center.

After Mark Scheifele had given the Jets a 2-1 lead early in the third, Frank Vatrano tied the game with 4:46 to go before Troy Terry took advantage of a Jets defensive-zone turnover to ensure overtime wasn’t required as he put the game away with 26 seconds to play in regulation.

“Well, it was a tie game going into the third, we knew we hadn’t played our best. We were a little better in the third, but not good enough,” Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers told the team website. “We didn’t deserve that win.”

That forced the Jets to settle for a split of Northern California after rallying to defeat the San Jose Sharks one night earlier.

“We’re usually pretty good when we get up, especially in the third period,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel told the team website after the game. “Made some mistakes, obviously critical mistakes. One off a faceoff play and then just the turnover near the end of the game, and Anaheim gets the win.”

The Jets, who slipped to 23-10-1, face the Minnesota Wild on Saturday at Canada Life Centre in what will be their final home game before the holiday break.

Let’s take a closer look at this one.

THE RETURN

The Jets welcomed Ehlers to the lineup on Thursday, activating him from injured reserve so he could suit up for the first time in 10 games after suffering a lower-body injury on Nov. 29 against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Ehlers was reunited with Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti and while there was certainly some rust to shake off, the Danish winger chipped in an assist on Gabe Vilardi’s second period power play marker.

“That was not a pass, it wasn’t a shot, I don’t know what that was,” said Ehlers. “But he’s pretty good around the net and he was able to get that puck and put it in the back of the net.”

Ehlers is no stranger to harsh self-assessments and this was no different.

“It felt nice to be back out there,” said Ehlers, who finished with two shots on goal in just under 17 minutes of ice time. “My game wasn’t very good. I had some good shifts but also some real bad stuff. I’ve got some work to do.”

NO SUPPORT

After watching Connor Hellebuyck become the first NHL goalie to reach 20 wins on Tuesday, Eric Comrie was between the pipes for his eighth start of the campaign.

The trend of Comrie not receiving much offensive support continued as he dropped a fifth consecutive start despite another solid performance as he finished with 28 saves.

The Jets have scored only eight goals during Comrie’s past five starts, leaving little margin for error.

“He didn’t deserve that. Our goalies give us a chance to win every single night and he did that again,” said Ehlers. “We weren’t good enough in front of him. It’s disappointing.”

The Jets had a sleepy start for the second consecutive game and that contributed to the eventual defeat as the Jets were held to four shots on goal in the first period – and one high-danger chance, according to Natural Stat Trick.

“We didn’t do anything in the first period. It was just Eric, he was the only one playing in the first period,” said Vilardi. “He did a good job at keeping us in it. But the first period was terrible. Took us too long to get into the game.”

STAYING HOT

With the Jets struggling to generate much offensively at even strength, they leaned on their red-hot power play to even the score in the second period as Vilardi scored his eighth with the man-advantage.

During the past six games, the Jets have scored eight times with the man-advantage, which helped them regain top spot in the NHL in power-play efficiency, leapfrogging the New Jersey Devils.

Vilardi is up to 14 goals for the season, including six on the power play.

THE RUSH

For a good chunk of time, as the Jets seemingly found their legs, it looked like an outstanding individual effort early in the third period from Kyle Connor might allow the Jets to come away with two points.

Connor picked up the puck behind the net in the defensive zone and began to head up ice.

But the end-to-end burst of speed before finding Scheifele for a one-timer was only part of the play, even if it concluded with a highlight-reel one-timer from his longtime linemate.

It was an impressive backcheck from Connor that got the entire play started and then a perfect cross-ice feed.

“That’s Kyle doing what he does, making a great play,” said Vilardi.

THE KEY PLAY

Troy Terry got loose in front of the Winnipeg net and put the game away after Frank Vatrano forced a turnover in the Jets’ defensive zone.

THE THREE STARS

1. Frank Vatrano, Ducks, Scored two goals, set up the game-winner.

2. Troy Terry, Ducks, Delivered the GWG in the waning moments.

3. Kyle Connor, Jets, Two assists, three shots on goal.

EXTRA, EXTRA

Ehlers replaced Nikita Chibrikov, who blocked a shot on the inside of his right knee in the first period of Tuesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks. Chibrikov has two goals and three points in four games with the Jets. He’s done a good job of making an impact during this audition in the top-six and it will be interesting to see if he sticks around and gets a look on the fourth line at some point over the next several games.

The Jets made one other change among its skaters, inserting Ville Heinola on the third pairing with Logan Stanley, leaving Colin Miller as a healthy scratch.

The Jets have moved forward David Gustafsson to injured reserve, retroactive to Dec. 10 when he suffered a concussion in a fight with Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic.

Earlier in the day, the Jets placed defenceman Dylan Coghlan on waivers, with the purpose of assigning him to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. Coghlan appeared in only one game for the Jets to go along with 32 healthy scratches.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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