Jets struggles continue with beating in Edmonton

Embarrassing had already been used earlier this week by Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel, so feel free to insert an adjective — or an expletive — at your leisure.

As the Winnipeg Jets wrapped up a busy stretch of seven games in 11 days with a highly uninspiring effort against the Edmonton Oilers, Arniel was left to chew on what had transpired.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, the Jets were on the business end of a 6-2 beatdown to the Oilers on Saturday night at Rogers Place.

“It’s hard. You’re trying to take steps forward and you’re trying to gain points, no matter how you do it. That’s another big step backwards,” Arniel told reporters in Edmonton. “We’ve been kind of repetitive on doing this and we’ve got to find a way to get that consistency in our game.”

In a week where the Jets held a players-only meeting after a 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, they were left to once again lick their collective wounds after a mind-boggling showing to an Oilers team that hadn’t won consecutive games in regulation since mid-October.

One night after defeating the Sabres 4-1 in the rematch, the Jets showed very few signs of life and were down four goals by the time the first period ended.

“You can’t let mistakes compound and end up in the back of your net,” said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey. “Part of being a great team is handling that schedule. You might not feel your best and you might not be snapping around like you do when you’re on your A-game, but you’ve got to find ways to stay in hockey games, push games to OT and obviously get those greasy ones. I don’t think that was something we’ve done a good job here of late.”

By slipping to 14-13-1 for the season, the Jets fell two points behind the Oilers while holding a game in hand.

But unless the Jets can clean up some of the things that have been ailing them, rallying to secure a playoff spot looks like an uphill battle.

The Jets open a four-game homestand on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars.

Let’s take a closer look at this one:

Back-to-back

It had been an eventful and busy week for Jets goalie Eric Comrie.

After being pulled after one period in the aforementioned 5-1 loss to the Sabres, Comrie had two outstanding outings, turning aside 63 of 66 shots on goal in the shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday and the victory over the Sabres on Friday.

Given the heavier workload for the career backup, the expectation was that third-stringer Thomas Milic would make his second NHL start on Saturday night.

But looking to ride the wave of Comrie’s strong play, he led the Jets out for the pre-game warmup and made his ninth start in the past 10 outings.

Comrie was under siege immediately and he was bombarded for 16 shots on goal in the first period.

“We’ve got to be better. We hung (Comrie) out to dry in that first period,” said Jets centre Mark Scheifele. “It’s tough to rebound from being down four-rip.”

Compounding matters, Comrie was bowled over by Oilers captain Connor McDavid as he tried to tip-toe behind him in the crease.

McDavid received a minor penalty for goalie interference on the play.

Comrie received his second mercy pull of the week, as Milic was between the pipes to start the second period.

Milic made 10 saves on 12 shots on goal in relief.

The blender

Arniel had been reluctant to break up the Jets top line, given how well they’ve been playing.

But after a brutal first period for the Jets entire group — one that included more than 13 minutes without a shot on goal and getting outshot 16-5 — Arniel moved Gabe Vilardi onto a line with Adam Lowry and Jonathan Toews.

That moved Alex Iafallo up with Scheifele and Kyle Connor.

Scheifele thought he had got the Jets on the board with 6:50 to go in the second period, but his 15th goal of the campaign was erased by a coach’s challenge when it was determined that Iafallo had entered the offensive zone early and was offside.

Naturally, the Jets first goal came when Vilardi was on the ice on a shift with Connor and Scheifele.

Vilradi’s goal gave him 13 on the season.

The goal also gave Arniel a reason to reunite the top line for several shifts during the third period.

It made perfect sense for Arniel to search for an offensive spark after the poor start, but it will be interesting to see what the combos look like when the Jets get back on the ice to prepare for the game against the Stars.

The biggest issue that Arniel is facing right now is that he’s getting almost no offence from his middle-six forward group for an extended period of time.

So while there’s been plenty of shuffling the deck, chemistry has been nearly impossible to come by and the list of players in the midst of lengthy scoring droughts is incredibly long.

That makes it hard to find a lineup that can win consistently.

The swap

In what looks like a sign of things to come, Arniel made one lineup change, inserting veteran defenceman Luke Schenn on the third pairing for rookie Elias Salomonsson.

Salomonsson has appeared in four NHL games and shown some promise, while also experiencing some of the growing pains that come with being air dropped into your first action just past the quarter point of the new season.

Salomonsson has shown his mobility and provided some quality zone exits, but he’s been on the ice for an abundance of scoring chances against so far.

Arniel has seen some of the things he’s liked from Salomonsson, but all signs point to a return to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League during the coming days.

“It’s kind of the test he was going to run into when it comes to the different teams that he’s faced,” Arniel said earlier this week. “But he’s got good feet, he’s got good instincts. There’s lots of things that he needs to improve on but there’s also a lot of good, positive things that are there as well. He’s got good feet, he’s got good vision, It’s just a different game up here. It’s faster, heavier game. That’s why we wanted him to get these opportunities while he can.”

Salomonsson would benefit from a longer look and he’s bound to improve once the game slows down for him.

The flip side of the equation is that the Jets are going to need a roster spot once Haydn Fleury gets his conditioning back up after being cleared from concussion protocol.

The key play

Zach Hyman took a hit from Jets defenceman Logan Stanley at the blue line, starting a play that allowed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to open the scoring.

The three stars

Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, One goal, one assist.

Connor McDavid, Oilers, Two assists, five shots on goal.

Evan Bouchard, Oilers, One goal, one assist.

Extra, extra

The NHL used the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast to make the official announcement about the 2026 Heritage Classic, with the Jets hosting the Montreal Canadiens at Princess Auto Stadium on Oct. 25. It will be the third time the Jets will host an outdoor game.

Former Winnipeg Ice forward Matt Savoie is up to six goals and 10 points in 29 games for the Oilers after scoring in the first period.

Former Jets forward Jack Roslovic will be sidelined for several weeks with a lower-body injury after getting off to an excellent start with the Oilers that includes 10 goals and 18 points in 23 games.

winnipegjets.com/kenwiebe