OT loss to Leafs ‘self inflicted,’ says Jets head coach

The Winnipeg Jets can’t afford many missteps if they hope to claw their way back into the playoff race. Which is why a 4-3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night represents a significant stumble — one that is likely to leave a mark.

Winnipeg led 3-1 with more than 14 minutes remaining in regulation and appeared well on its way to a fifth straight victory. But three straight goals by the visitors, including the game-winner by Max Domi during the three-on-three session, snatched away a potentially valuable point in the standings.

“Self-inflicted,” is how Jets head coach Scott Arniel described the collapse.

They were caught up on the rush on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson goal that cut the lead to 3-2 at 5:58 of the final frame. They lost a defensive zone faceoff that quickly ended up in the back of the net on the Bobby McMann goal that tied it at 15:33. And then they made a turnover that led to a 2-on-1 rush and the dagger at 3:08 of overtime.

“At the end of the day, this is a game we should have finished off,” said Arniel.

“That is part of our jobs, those moments that count in games, whether that is the start of the third period where you give up a rush goal or it is a face-off play, whatever it might be, those are moments that we have to handle a little bit better.”

The Jets did have a golden chance to win it late in regulation, but Jonathan Toews — looking to score for a fifth straight game — hit the crossbar with 2:38 remaining while Winnipeg enjoyed a power play. They rang iron on multiple earlier occasions as well, inches from putting the game away.

“We had some looks to maybe get four on the board for us at different points,” said defenceman Josh Morrissey.

There was a dreaded sense of déjà vu to this one for Winnipeg. Flash back to New Year’s Day in Toronto, when the Jets held a 4-1 lead late in the second period, only to fall 6-5 in regulation. If Arniel’s crew ultimately miss the playoffs, their two meetings with the Maple Leafs may well be remembered as pivotal moments.

The Jets have collected points in five straight outings (4-0-1) and are 19-22-6 overall. That had them seven points out of the final Western Conference wildcard spot with 35 games remaining and six teams to leap-frog. The gap could grow to eight points if one of Nashville or Los Angeles won their late games Saturday.

Toronto continues its second-half resurgence, now 9-1-3 in the past 13 games to improve to 24-16-8 overall.

The game was played in front of a sold-out crowd, with plenty of Toronto fans trading chants and cheers with the Winnipeg faithful.

“Every time the Leafs are in town, it’s always a rowdy atmosphere,” said Morrissey. “Obviously, their fans travel really well. So, it was a fun game. There’s been some fun ones in this building through the years.”

The cold front is over

It had been 21 long games and counting since the guy known as El Nino lit the lamp, a drought that dates all the way to Nov. 29 in Nashville.

A lot has happened to Nino Niederreiter since then — including celebrating his 1,000th game in December and being a healthy scratch for the first time in his career earlier this month.

It looked like the scoring slump might have ended early in the second period when Logan Stanley’s shot was tipped on the way into the back of the net to give the Jets a 1-0 lead. Niederreiter was given credit by the officials and announced in the arena.

But a few moments later, an official change was made: Alex Iafallo got credit. Turns out he was the only one to get a stick on it.

However, that close call was a sign of things to come.

Niederreiter finally shed the monkey off his back 2:28 into the third period scoring a no-doubter off a rebound to put the Jets up 3-1. The veteran Swiss skater looked skyward during his celebration as if to say “thank you” to the hockey gods.

“You haven’t put up any points or goals in numerous games, so it felt good to get on the board,” he said. “But at the same time, you wish you could have won that game. That would have made it even better.”

Under the hood

This was a game of momentum swings, both with the eye test and also based on underlying numbers.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Jets took it to the Maple Leafs in the first period, with a 6-0 advantage in high-danger chances through 20 minutes. And yet, the score remained 0-0, with Toronto goaltender Dennis Hildeby a big reason why.

The middle frame was a 50-50 affair — not to mention a form of pond hockey — with plenty of wide-open, back-and-forth play and an 11-10 edge in high-dangers for the Jets, who had grabbed a 2-1 lead at that point.

Toronto then seized control for the remaining 23:08, with a 12-6 advantage in high-dangers which ultimately led to a 3-1 showing on the scoreboard for that stretch.

“I felt like we were maybe a little bit sitting back in the third at points in time,” said Morrissey.

“Obviously you want to keep attacking and not let them get into their offensive game. We did a lot of good things. It just would have been nice to find a way to get two.”

At the end of the game, high dangers finished 23-22 for Winnipeg, while expected goals — which take the quality of chances and other shot metrics into account — were 5.74 to 3.75 for the Jets.

That says Hildeby stopped 2.74 goals above expectations, while Hellebuyck was a minus 0.25.

Translation: The team with the better goaltending performance skated away with the victory. Hellebuyck stopped 33 of 37 shots, while Hildeby turned aside 27 of 30.

“Obviously, we tried our best to block shots and make sure (Hellebuyck) sees most of the pucks. We’ve just got to continue playing more aggressive,” said Niederreiter.

“Don’t be afraid of making mistakes and don’t try to defend something when we don’t have to – that’s something we have to learn.”

Key play

Max Domi’s overtime goal was the dagger.

Three stars

1. TOR D Oliver Ekman-Larsson: 1 goal, 2 assists

2. TOR C Max Domi: 1 goal, 1 assist

3. WPG RW Nino Niederreiter: 1 goal

Extra! Extra!

The Jets have scored the first goal of the game in nine straight outings, which is a franchise record. Yet they’ve found a way to win only four of those, which is certainly a sore spot.

Kyle Connor’s goal near the midway mark of the second period, which put the Jets ahead 2-0, puts him in a tie for the team lead with Scheifele at 23.

Just 23 seconds later, Toronto’s top scorer, Auston Matthews, buried his 24th of the year. He had four goals in two games against Winnipeg this season.

Winnipeg went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Toronto went 0-for-2.

Winnipeg has just one win in its last nine games against Toronto (1-6-2) dating back to 2021.

Forwards Gustav Nyquist and Danny Zhilkin and defenceman Isaak Phillips were the healthy scratches. Blue-liners Neal Pionk, Haydn Fleury and Colin Miller are all sidelined with injuries and considered week-to-week. Arniel said Miller underwent a surgical procedure on his knee earlier this week.

The Jets will fly to Chicago on Sunday to prepare to face the Blackhawks on Monday night inside United Center. It should be an emotional one, with Toews returning to face the only other franchise he’s known for the first time.

www.winnipegfreepress.com/mikemcintyre