Sabres goaltender Reimer robs Jets

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This article was published 23/03/2025 (225 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It had all the makings of a perfect afternoon for the Winnipeg Jets.

A sold-out Canada Life Centre, a chance to clinch a playoff spot with a single point and the worst team in the Eastern Conference rolling into town having played a day earlier.

And yet…

“We haven’t had one of those in a while, where we dominate like that (and) come out on the wrong end of it,” a clearly frustrated head coach Scott Arniel said Sunday afternoon following a perplexing 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres that had to be seen to be believed.

Dominate might be putting it lightly. The Jets outshot the Sabres 36-17, with shot attempts an even more lopsided 71-32. If you’re into advanced statistics, Winnipeg had a 32-9 advantage in scoring chances and a 13-2 lead in high-danger chances. That’s a game you’d not only expect to win every time, but probably in a rout.

And yet…

“Just one of those nights. A little bit snake-bitten,” said defenceman Colin Miller, who was one of three Winnipeg players to get a puck past Sabres goaltender James Reimer. The pride of Morweena, Manitoba, was sensational, making 33 saves including several of the “how did he do that?” variety.

“It’s one of those things where we almost had so many chances but the puck just wouldn’t find the back of the net sometimes,” added Jets forward Brandon Tanev.

At the other end of the ice, Jets backup Eric Comrie stopped just 12 of the 16 pucks that came his way, with the final Buffalo goal into an empty-net as Winnipeg pressed late for the equalizer.

Winnipeg falls to 48-19-4 as an eight-game point streak at home (7-0-1) came to a painful end. The Jets had also been a perfect 7-0-0 at the downtown rink this year when facing an opponent that had played the day before, as Buffalo did on Saturday afternoon in a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

The Sabres, who certainly made the most of their very limited opportunities, improved to 28-35-6.

THE PLAYOFF PICTURE: No doubt Dallas was pleased with this result, as they remain eight points back of Winnipeg for top spot in both the Central Division and the Western Conference. The Stars have two games in hand (13 remaining games compared to 11 for Winnipeg) and they’ll also meet head-to-head on April 10 in Texas.

Yes, the Jets are still in the driver’s seat. But this loss keeps their rival a little closer in the rear-view mirror with plenty of road still ahead and, perhaps, a few more twists and turns.

As for putting an “X” beside their name, Winnipeg could have still clinched a playoff spot on Sunday evening had St. Louis lost, but the Blues beat the Nashville Predators to remain in the second and final wild-card spot.

If the regular-season ended today rather than on April 17, Jets vs Blues would be the first-round matchup while the Stars would face the scorching hot Colorado Avalanche, who seem likely to finish third in the Central but will be a handful for any opponent given what they added at the trade deadline in Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle.

Finally, the Jets remain two points back of Washington for first-overall in the NHL. The Capitals — who are coming to town on Tuesday — have one game in hand in the race for the Presidents’ Trophy.

GETTING GOALIED: There aren’t many games where you can say the Jets had the second-best goalie on the ice, but that was certainly the case here. While Reimer was standing tall time and time again, Comrie was struggling as he faced the team he’d spent the past two seasons with.

JJ Peterka opened the scoring at 9:15 on just Buffalo’s third shot of the game — the Jets already had 10 at that point — and it was one Comrie would certainly expect to stop given that it was an unscreened wrist shot.

Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin gave the visitors a 2-1 lead late in the second, once again beating Comrie from distance. It was just Buffalo’s seventh shot on goal, with the Jets already firing 24 at Reimer.

Rookie Tyson Kozak, who is from Souris, made it 3-1 early in the third with his second-career goal, this time on a goal-mouth scramble on the power play. Then, after Miller had cut the deficit back to one, Alex Tuch scored on a shorthanded breakaway to make it 4-2.

“You watch those games, they happen — when you get all those chances we had — all of the sudden (the puck) goes the other way and it’s in the net,” said Arniel.

Nikolaj Ehlers brought Winnipeg back within a goal with just over three minutes left, but that’s as close as the Jets would come. Reimer made a great blocker stop on Gabe Vilardi and a windmill glove save off Nino Niederreiter to preserve the victory.

“Their goaltender played great tonight. I think we can challenge his eyes a bit more, get into the crease a bit more, make some dirty pucks a little bit tougher for him to play against,” said Tanev.

Comrie’s numbers for a backup are still respectable — a 2.49 goals-against-average and a .909 save-percentage — but this was not a quality outing. He’s now 8-9-1 through 18 starts in relief of workhorse Connor Hellebuyck, who leads the NHL with 53 starts and 40 wins this year.

INJURY SCARES: The Jets are already without defenceman Neal Pionk, who missed a fifth-straight game Sunday with a lower-body injury. And they had a couple first-period scares as Vilardi took a puck to the face and needed repairs, and then Niederreiter was hit hard into the boards by Buffalo defenceman Connor Clifton and was wonky as he skated off the ice.

Niederreiter was pulled into concussion protocol and eventually cleared in time for the start of the second period. He then snapped a personal 15-game scoring drought during a Jets power play early in the middle frame which tied the game 1-1.

KEY PLAY: Tuch’s shorthanded breakaway goal with just under seven minutes left to play was the game-winner.

THREE STARS:

1. BUF G James Reimer: 33 saves

2. BUF C Ryan McLeod: 1 goal, 3 assists

3. BUF Jacob Bernard-Docker: 2 assists

EXTRA, EXTRA: This was the 10th sellout of the season for the Jets, who have six home games remaining.

Arniel made one lineup change, inserting defenceman Logan Stanley on the third-pairing with Miller and making Haydn Fleury a healthy scratch along with defenceman Ville Heinola and forwards David Gustafsson and Rasmus Kupari. Stanley had assists on the goals by Miller and Ehlers.

Both teams went 1-for-3 on the power play. Winnipeg is now 2-for-19 with the extra man over the last seven games.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg