Comrie’s best coming when it’s needed

DALLAS – Eric Comrie is no stranger to deftly deflecting praise.

As he stood inside a mostly empty Winnipeg Jets locker room after outduelling Sergei Bobrovsky in a 2-1 victory on Saturday, Comrie was calmly talking about the poise his team played with in front of him.

And rather than lean into any of the 27 saves he made to win a third consecutive start, Comrie tipped his mask to the crease keeper of the past two Stanley Cup champions who stood at the opposite end of the rink.

“To be honest, I thought we had the majority of the chances all game long,” said Comrie. “I thought Bob made some unbelievable saves. He’s a great goalie. He made some great saves. I thought our team played really well all game long. I thought we really controlled a lot of the play.”

Comrie’s point is well taken.

The Jets did a great job of battling against the Panthers and they were able to generate some quality scoring chances, even if the volume wasn’t overly high.

But after the Jets gave up a goal five seconds after a Panthers power play had expired, Winnipeg found itself in an an-all-too-familiar spot – trailing by a goal and chasing the game.

Their patience and will was about to be tested, this time by a team that has ample experience closing out games, even if their lineup is diminished by a number of key injuries.

Falling behind hasn’t exactly been a good recipe for the Jets, who were 1-18-2 when trailing after two periods going into the third against the Panthers.

But thanks to the sound play of Comrie and third-period markers from Cole Perfetti and Mark Scheifele, the Jets were able to improve to 2-1 on this four-game road trip that wraps up on Monday with a Central Division battle against the Dallas Stars.

Comrie’s ability to bounce back after a tough outing against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 1 has been something to behold.

In three games since allowing six goals in a game where the Jets had built a 4-1 cushion, Comrie has held opponents three total goals allowed in his past three starts, turning aside 72 of 75 shots in the process.

The only goal he allowed on Saturday came on a shot from Evan Rodrigues that caromed in off Eetu Luostarinen in front.

“He was amazing. And he’s been like that for a while now.”

“Their goal was a puck that was going three feet wide and banks off a guy. So other than that, he was flawless,” said Perfetti. “He was amazing. And he’s been like that for a while now. So it’s, we have a lot of confidence when he’s back there, and he’s obviously a great guy to be around.

“When you see a guy get rewarded like that for how much hard work he puts in practice and off the ice, and he plays like that, it’s awesome. He was a rock for us back there.”

It’s been an interesting season for Comrie, who got off to a strong start when spelling off workhorse starter Connor Hellebuyck.

But his level of play dipped when the Jets needed him to take the ball and run with it when Hellebuyck was sidelined with a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery.

During those 10 starts with Hellebuyck on injured reserve, Comrie went 2-7-1 with a 3.71 goals-against average and .874 save percentage.

While the environment in front of him would fall on the category of suboptimal with the number of high-danger scoring chances he faced during that span, Comrie wasn’t at his best either.

“Earlier on, I was pressing the issue a little bit, trying to do a little bit too much,” said Comrie, who started 11 of 12 games between Nov. 18 and Dec. 11. “Trying too hard is a weird way to say it, but I feel like I was trying too hard. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself, trying to do too much instead of just letting things happen and playing my game.”

Thanks to how sharp he’s been during his past three starts, Comrie’s numbers when used as a true backup with Hellebuyck on the roster are impressive: in nine starts, he’s posted a 7-2-0 record, a 2.44 goals-against average and a 911 save percentage.

How has Comrie got things turned around?’

“I don’t know, trust in the work I put in in practice,” said Comrie. “We have the best goalie coach in the world here in Wade Flaherty. He’s unbelievable. He just keeps me ready for every single game.

“We have the best goalie coach in the world here in Wade Flaherty. He’s unbelievable. He just keeps me ready for every single game.”

“We just have a good talking relationship. He’s so good at getting me into the right mindset and just understanding the drills we do in practice that keep me sharp. I go out there with so much confidence because he gets me ready to go.”

Comrie was originally chosen by the Jets in the second round (59th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft and this is his third tour of duty with the organization, which could make the next several weeks even more interesting.

As one of eight Jets pending unrestricted free agents, Comrie is certainly a candidate for an extension, especially when you consider his relationship with Hellebuyck and Flaherty.

He could also attract interest from a contending team looking for additional goaltending depth, so watching how that plays out will be something to monitor.

Comrie, 30, has already made 19 starts this season, which means that his next start will tie his career-high for games played (set in 2024-25).

Saturday was the latest example of the old adage about the backup goaltender, whose No. 1 priority is a tale as old as time.

“He is giving us a chance to stay in games… He stops the ones he needs to and he can make some big saves as well.”

“He is giving us a chance to stay in games,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “He stops the ones he needs to and he can make some big saves as well. He gives us a chance to win games. And if he keeps us in games, he allows us to get out and play our game in front of him.”

Moose tracks

By sweeping the Rockford IceHogs on the weekend, the Manitoba Moose have won five of the past six games to improve to 21-15-3-0 for the American Hockey League season. Goalie Dom DiVincentiis made 32 saves on Sunday to propel the primary affiliate of the Jets to a 2-1 victory. Offensively, David Gustafsson scored the game-winning goal, while Brayden Yager scored his fifth of the season to round out the scoring for the Moose, who are back in action on Friday at Canada Life Centre against the Texas Stars.

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