Milic thrown to the wolves

RALEIGH, N.C. — Poor Thomas Milic. He never really stood a chance.

The 22-year-old goaltender, making his NHL debut on Friday afternoon in Raleigh, was thrown to the wolves by a spiralling Winnipeg Jets team that suddenly can’t score, defend… or win.

A 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes would have actually been much worse if not for Milic, who stopped 31 of 35 shots he faced and deserved better. Thanks entirely to him, this was actually a 1-1 game with less than nine minutes to play until the Jets completely imploded.

However, it wasn’t just the foul finish that had head coach Scott Arniel fuming as he spoke with the Free Press outside the team’s room at Lenovo Center.

“We had a lot of guys that forgot to show up at the start of the game,” said Arniel.

How could that be, especially with a veteran Jets group that had already lost three games in a row and seven of the last 10 to tumble down the NHL standings? Shouldn’t they have been plenty motivated?

“To come out and start the game that way — in a building like this, knowing the opposition isn’t going to be sitting back and is going to come hard — that’s for all of us. You know, the young and old, whatever, part of your profession is being prepared for games,” replied Arniel.

Indeed, the Jets came out flatter than a fritter, getting outshot 8-1 through the first 12 minutes. That’s quite the way to welcome your top goaltending prospect to the big leagues.

“I guess I’ve got to do a little bit more. I’ve got to scream a little bit longer or harder or whatever but find a way to get these guys to be ready to play,” said Arniel.

That, folks, is a pretty damning indictment of where this club, which is now 12-11-0 and taking on water fast, currently stands.

“We’re scrambling. We’re fighting for our lives here,” said Arniel.

Carolina, which had lost two in a row, improves to 15-7-2. They outshot the Jets 35-13, with shot attempts being a whopping 71-38.

Let’s break this one down further:

Buffalo boys

Safe to say the two Manitobans who are in the Hurricanes lineup had some extra pep in their step.

Let’s start with Winipegger Seth Jarvis, who continued to show why he’s one of the rising stars in the NHL. He opened the scoring with just under four minutes left in the first period, ripping a quick shot past Milic.

Over to you, Jordan Martinook. The Brandon product sniped the game-winner at 11:52 of the third period, beating Milic from the slot. The puck appeared to strike a Jets player and change direction on the way in.

Back to Jarvis, who notched his second of the game 47 seconds later with the Jets seemingly in a fog.

“Back-to-back plays. And they were coverage plays. Those are coming right down Grand Central,” said Arniel.

Jarvis completed the hat trick into an empty net with 63 seconds left. Hurricanes defenceman Alexander Nikishin, who was born in Russia, crashed the perogy party when he scored with 23 seconds left and Milic back in the net, essentially left to himself with the rest of his team completely checked out.

“I feel for the kid because he’s giving us a chance,” said Arniel.

The lone goal

Surprise, surprise: Winnipeg’s only offence once again came from the top line.

Gabe Vilardi took advantage of an egregious giveaway by Andrei Svechnikov, sending Mark Scheifele in on a breakaway to tie it up 1-1 midway through the second period.

That was it for the night. Cole Perfetti had the most glorious chances, including a clear-cut breakaway that was thwarted by Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi, while Kyle Connor and Elias Salomonsson found iron in the third period.

The Jets have now scored seven goals over their last four games and one or all of Scheifele, Vilardi and Connor have been involved. There’s been no secondary scoring dating back to their last victory on Nov. 18 over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

That’s a tough, tough way to live in the NHL.

Milic time

It took all of 13 seconds for Milic to face his first shot and the rubber kept coming early and often. The 2022 fifth-round draft pick didn’t appear to be rattled, despite playing one of the league’s top teams in one of the toughest buildings.

“We would have liked to give him a better result. I felt like the way he played deserved a better result,” said defenceman Josh Morrissey.

“Disappointed for him, but he can hold his head really high. He played a very, very good game and gave us a chance to win. And that’s all you can ask from your goalie.”

Milic was called up from the Manitoba Moose just over a week ago after Connor Hellebuyck underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. He found out late Wednesday night, after the Jets began this five-game road trip with a 4-3 loss in Washington, that he’d be facing the Hurricanes.

“It was pretty cool being able to tell my parents that and have them come in,” said Milic. “From there, I have been preparing for it since I was called up. I knew the time was going to come, that I had to get in there and I did my best to be ready.”

Plenty of family members and friends flew in from British Columbia to witness his big-league dream come true.

“Before the game I took them into the stands and (told them) I appreciated everything they have ever done for me, my whole life, really,” he said.

Milic looked calm, cool and collected throughout the contest and was tracking the puck well, often in spot to make a save before the shot was taken. He said the four that ultimately beat him were the result of some sneaky deception by the Hurricanes.

“They were great shots and great chances and that is what teams look to do, to pull everyone wide and then bring it back to the inside,” he said.

“So, they did a good job of finding that soft ice. They are good shots and good goals but at some point you have to find a way to stop them.”

Although the end result wasn’t what he wanted, Milic said there were plenty of positives to take away from the game. He even got on the scoresheet with his first penalty, a delay-of-game call after he covered a loose puck behind the Jets net.

“I’m happy with how a lot of the game went,” said Milic, who shouldn’t have to wait too long for his second start. The Jets are playing five more times over the next eight nights.

Key play

The second goal by Jarvis, 47 seconds after Martinook had given his team the lead, was the dagger.

Three stars

1. Hurricanes, Seth Jarvis: 3G

2. Hurricanes, D Shayne Gostisbehere: 2A

3. Hurricanes, Jordan Martinook: Game-winning goal.

Extra, extra

Defenceman Luke Schenn and forward Cole Koepke were the healthy scratches for the Jets, while defenceman Neal Pionk (lower-body) missed a second consecutive game. Haydn Fleury (concussion protocol) remains on injured reserve along with Hellebuyck.

The Jets went zero-for-two on the power play and four-for-four on the penalty kill. Two of those infractions happened early in the first period — tripping calls against Dylan DeMelo and Colin Miller that Arniel called “sloppy” by the veteran defencemen.

Shortly after that, Arniel moved DeMelo off the top pairing with Morrissey, putting Salomonsson with him. DeMelo slid down to play with Dylan Samberg.

“That had to with certain people weren’t ready to play,” said Arniel.

The Jets flew to Nashville immediately after the game and will face the Predators on Saturday. Eric Comrie is expected to get the call in net.

“A chance to right the ship,” is how Morrissey described it.

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