Jets run into hot goaltender, lose to Flames 3-1

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/01/2025 (236 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It will go down as a good homestand that had the potential to be great.

The Winnipeg Jets closed out the season-long eight-game homestand on Saturday with an effort they could be more than comfortable with, but they ran into a hot goaltender and fell 3-1 to the Calgary Flames at Canada Life Centre.

Despite the defeat, the Jets finished the homestand with a record of 4-2-2 and are now 31-13-2 for the season as they prepare to open up a two-game road trip on Monday against Utah HC.

“That’s definitely a place we want to take pride in, 4-2-2 is a winning record but we want to make teams fear coming into here and hopefully have home-ice advantage,” said Jets left-winger Kyle Connor.

“We’ll definitely work on that throughout the year. It’s always awesome coming in to play for these fans.”

After a road-heavy schedule, the Jets spent nearly three weeks at home in January and some of the biggest benefits won’t be fully apparent until later in the season.

But you can be sure that some of the practice time and work in the weight room, combined with sleeping in their own beds, could provide a bit of additional energy during what will be a sprint to the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off in early February — which includes seven games over a 13-day span.

Along with the results, the Jets also played a patient game and didn’t stray from their structure on multiple occasions.

“I liked the way we played here, I really do,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel.

“I thought the Detroit game was the one that kind of bothers me, the Anaheim game a little bit. But at the end of the day, all the other ones, there were games where our effort was great, we played well.

“All the different areas, whether it was our PK, the power play, defending, our forecheck, were rolling for us.”

That’s one of the reasons the Jets were able to take advantage of the extended time at home and expand their lead in the Central Division to six points over the Dallas Stars, who hold one game in hand.

Let’s look a little closer at what transpired:

THE RECURRING THEME

Despite another rock-solid effort from Jets backup Eric Comrie, he suffered an eighth consecutive loss between the pipes.

Comrie finished with 19 saves and lowered his goals-against average to 2.87 and his save percentage sits at .904 through his 11 starts.

This is not a recording, but the biggest issue for Comrie once again was the lack of offensive support.

With only one goal on Saturday, the Jets have scored a grand total of 12 goals during the past eight starts for Comrie.

“It’s a broken record. I have no idea why we can’t score when he’s in the net,” said Arniel. “We’re the highest-scoring team and it just seems like we can’t get him any run support.

“That was one where it wasn’t a back-to-back, it wasn’t a tough game for us in the sense of travel or anything like that. That was one there where you’d like to see us capitalize on all those chances that we had.”

It’s not like Comrie is allowing a bunch of softies either.

The one-timer by Matt Coronato that opened the scoring changed direction off Jets defenceman Neal Pionk and the second was a clear shot on the power play from Andrei Kuzmenko.

Comrie won his first three starts of the season but has now run into an extended period of tough luck.

“Yeah, he is taking it hard on himself. And he shouldn’t because he’s given us a chance every time he goes in there,” said Arniel.

“Guys are great with him. They really are and they know that they’ve got to get him some run support. Hopefully, we have one of those ones where we break out big time where we can get him that win by supporting him with some goals.”

Captain Adam Lowry echoed those sentiments.

“I feel for the guy,” said Lowry.

“He’s played amazing all year, he’s great in the locker room, works so hard day-in-day-out, he’s the first guy on the ice, last guy off. At some point, we’ve got to find a way: off shin pads, or bang in a few for him because he’s battling his heart out for us. We are not getting the results for him that he deserves.”

 

THE GOAL

Arniel made a subtle turn of the line blender during the third period, moving Gabe Vilardi onto the line with Lowry and Nikolaj Ehlers, while Alex Iafallo shifted to a trio with Mark Scheifele and Connor.

The move paid dividends as Lowry tipped home a point shot from Colin Miller that made it a one-goal deficit.

That was the only shot to beat Flames goalie Dustin Wolf.

“I don’t want to take anything away from Dustin. I think he played an exceptional game. He made some big saves,” said Lowry. “In the third, we did a better job of getting bodies to the net, getting layers. I feel like he saw a lot of pucks.

“He’s a great goalie. If he sees the puck, he’s going to make the save. I know we threw up a lot of shots, but I think there were instances where those shots could have turned into more if we generated some more traffic.”

As for Ehlers, he was one of the most dangerous players on the ice, using his speed effectively and explosively as he finished with five shots on goal and 11 shot attempts.

“Certainly, he’s dynamic and creative,” said Lowry.

“You look at the first period of play, he could have had two or three goals. The one off of the post on that breakaway… I just think it’s working on both sides of the puck. We preach that our offence comes from good defensive play. And that’s reloading, getting above it, those effort plays, they make the difference.”

 

THE SAVE

Connor showed fantastic hustle on a backcheck in the third period and after sliding into the net, the Jets left-winger made a quality save on Flames centre Nazem Kadri, as the shot caromed off his back and then hit the post.

“I lost my balance trying to backcheck there and ran into (Comrie). I thought Kadri was actually going to shoot. I saw that and I was just trying to get out of (Comrie’s) way,” said Connor.

“It was kind of a scramble. I didn’t even know that it was coming. It hit me in the back and I saw the replay quick. I guess it was lucky.”

 

KEY PLAY

Andrei Kuzmenko buried a shot on the power play at 15:14 of the second period for what turned out to be the game-winner.

 

THE THREE STARS

1. Dustin Wolf, Flames, 38 saves.
2. Blake Coleman, Flames, one goal, three points.
3. Nikolaj Ehlers, Jets, five shots on goal, 11 shot attempts.

EXTRA, EXTRA

Miller made his return to the lineup after suffering a fractured larynx in a game against the Detroit Red Wings on Jan. 4. The veteran defenceman chipped in an assist and took 18 shifts for 15:57 of ice time. Miller’s return meant that Ville Heinola was a healthy scratch.

Scheifele led all skaters with seven shots on goal and 12 shot attempts in the contest.

 

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld