Same old story

The Winnipeg Jets have seen this movie before and they’ve grown increasingly tired of it.

Despite building leads of 2-0 and 3-2, the Jets were unable to close this game out, falling 4-3 in overtime to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre.

With Dylan Samberg in the box for tripping, the Golden Knights got a power-play marker from Tomas Hertl with 12.8 seconds to go to send the Jets to a 10th consecutive loss (0-6-4).

“We’re just not getting across the finish line. At the end of the day, that’s what it is,” said Jets defenceman Luke Schenn. “The only thing you can do is continue to show up for work, compete. The last thing I feel like guys are doing is hanging their heads and feeling sorry for themselves. You’ve got to keep moving on. There’s lots of hockey left.”

Since cruising out of the gate with a record of 9-3, the Jets have won just six of the past 29 games, going 6-18-5 during that span as they’ve dropped to 32nd in the NHL standings.

“This is just Groundhog Day,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “Something happens. These things seem to happen a lot recently. Just got to stay with it. I know it’s hard to say and hard to hear, but we’ve got to find a way. We were 12 seconds away from getting out of that one.”

The inability to close out games has been a frequent issue during this losing skid and it’s a puzzle the Jets will need to solve in order to work themselves back into the race.

“We could sit there and pick plays out, but again, we’re battling and we score a goal late and they get one right after,” said Jets forward Cole Perfetti. “It’s tough when you play that good of a game again and that’s the result. It’s tough to swallow that one.

“We’ve had quite a few of these now, where it’s back and forth or we are winning late and something happens. It’s going to turn for us. It has to. It’s not going to go like this all year. We’re just not getting the results right now and it sucks.”

The Jets are back in action on Thursday as they continue a five-game homestand against the Edmonton Oilers.

THE SCARY MOMENT – Jets defenceman Haydn Fleury had to be taken off the ice on a stretcher with 6:44 to go in the first period after he crashed awkwardly into the end boards.

It was an unfortunate result but not a dirty play by any means.

Fleury was hit by Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar and lost his balance. Because he was so far away from the boards, there was no way for him to avoid the hard contact.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Arniel. “You hate to see that stuff. Scary situation.”

Arniel said Fleury will remain in hospital overnight for observation.

“He’s got a lot of tests to go through,” said Arniel. “He does have a broken nose. There’s a few different things that happened off it. A little bit of everything. He slammed his back, his neck, hit his head, and then obviously, his nose.”

The Jets entire bench emptied and they surrounded Fleury on the stretcher in a show of support before he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for further evaluation.

“We just hope that he’s okay,” said Schenn. “You never like seeing that for anyone in the game, it doesn’t matter which team. When you have a buddy like that and a teammate and a friend in a spot like that, it shakes guys up. The trainers and doctors and everyone did a great job. We’re thinking of him and we’re praying that he’s going to be fine.”

During the stoppage in play, Kolesar and Jets captain Adam Lowry had a discussion between the benches and the two of them dropped the gloves in a spirited tilt on the ensuing faceoff.

“That’s why he’s the captain, he steps up in those types of moments,” said Schenn. “Good on him. That’s what leadership is, sticking up for one another. He handled it correctly and that’s the way things should be handled in situations like that.”

THE MILESTONE – Schenn suited up in his 1,100th NHL game on Tuesday and he recognized the significance of the moment following the morning skate.

“It has been an unbelievable journey, and I am very grateful for all the twists and turns along the way,” said Schenn. “There aren’t going to be a million more milestones along the way when you get up there, so you want to appreciate it. I am grateful for the opportunity.”

Schenn ensured this milestone game would be a memorable one when he scored his first goal since joining the Jets last March.

He had gone 98 regular season games between goals, dating back to Oct. 19 of 2024, when he was a member of the Nashville Predators.

“The last time I got one was right around the 1,000 (NHL) game mark,” said Schenn. “It would have been a lot sweeter to get it in a win.”

Schenn also caught Kolesar with an open-ice hit and blocked four shots in the game.

“He’s a guy that I can learn a lot from, being around for so long,” said Perfetti. “He plays hard and heavy and brings a lot of jam to our team. It’s good to see him get a goal there and chip in offensively.”

KEY PLAY – Mitch Marner’s one-timer caroms in off Tomas Hertl for a power-play marker with 12.8 seconds to go in overtime.

THE THREE STARS

1. Tomas Hertl, Golden Knights, Scored the OT winner, added an assist.
2. Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, Chipped in a pair of helpers.
3. Luke Schenn, Jets, Scored a goal in his 1,100th NHL game.

THE SLUMP BUSTER – Perfetti had been mired in an offensive slump, with no goals in 16 games and just one assist in the past eight games, but gave his team an early lead on Tuesday.

Jonathan Toews found Perfetti alone in front with a nifty backhand pass that snuck through the legs of the Golden Knights defender and Perfetti made a smart deke to score his third goal of the season.

Toews has come out of the break energized and is up to four assists during his past six games.

THE GOLDEN BOYS – A pair of Jets defence prospects were part of Sweden’s gold medal winning team at the 2026 World Junior Hockey Championship in Minnesota.

2025 first-rounder Sascha Boumedienne delivered the game-winning goal in Monday’s 4-2 victory over Czechia to finish the tournament with two goals and four points.

Alfons Freij, the Jets’ 2024 second-rounder, had seven assists in the event and did a nice job running Sweden’s power play.

Jets winger Gustav Nyquist was proud to see Sweden come through after a number of recent disappointments in the medal round.

“Obviously, it’s been a long time. They’ve been in many finals,” said Nyquist. “Haven’t gotten it done in I don’t know how many years, but it feels like a lot of years. So great to see. I thought they played a great game.”

EXTRA, EXTRA – Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made his 29th start of the season and turned aside 27 of 31 shots he faced.

Kyle Connor scored his 20th goal of the season with 5:04 to go in the third period to give the Jets a 3-2 lead. It gave him nine consecutive 20-goal seasons.

Jets defenceman Logan Stanley served his one-game suspension, leaving fellow blue-liner Colin Miller and forward Cole Koepke as the healthy scratches.

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