Close shave Jets lack finish

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This article was published 30/11/2011 (5063 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets have done plenty right in their last two games — led them both — but learning how to control a game is still elusive.

With two different leads Tuesday night at the MTS Centre, and one of them in the third period, the home team couldn’t get the job done against the slicker Ottawa Senators.

Zack Smith’s second goal of the game on a power play with 6:15 remaining was the difference on a night of four lead changes as the Sens prevailed 6-4 before 15,004 customers.

Smith, by the way, was an undrafted Manitoba Moose free agent just long enough in 2008 to be showcased for and picked up by the Senators. He had two goals in his return here as Ottawa recorded its second win of the season over the Jets.

“We played pretty good tonight,” said Jets defenceman Johnny Oduya, who was sitting in the penalty box when Smith was allowed to cruise into the slot and fire the winner past Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec. “But if we don’t close it down, they’re good enough to come back and they did.”

Despite battling back to lead twice, the Jets weren’t in much of a mood to talk about positives on Tuesday.

That’s because two negatives were prominent. They have not yet won a game this season in which they have trailed after two periods, now 0-10-2

And now they have squandered the start of their lengthy home spell to fall two games under .500 at 9-11-4. One loss in the books with 12 of the next 14 games in the MTS Centre.

“I think it’s more disappointing that we had an opportunity to kick off a good homestand and we kind of let it slip away,” said Jets winger Evander Kane, whose two goals in the first 2:41 of the third period sent the Jets to their second lead of the night, 4-3. “There aren’t too many positives. We played well for a time but we didn’t play a full 60 minutes and that’s why we’re on the losing end.”

“We wanted these two points to start it off good but there’s a lot of games left this month,” said centre Bryan Little. “We have to try to look at this game and learn from it.”

Nick Foligno added Ottawa’s empty-net insurance as the Sens scored three times in the final 12:25 to move to 12-10-2.

“We had been playing fairly good, fairly consistent as a group,” said Jets coach Claude Noel. “But you can’t play this way. This is all the things that come up, this is how you lose games… you can’t close out games. Bad penalties… where do you want to go? Same stuff.”

Pavelec was especially annoyed after the game, blaming himself for not being better against 34 Ottawa shots but also criticizing referees Chris Lee and Stephane Auger for some shoddy work, too.

A play most in question for the Jets was Smith’s first goal at 15:42 of the second that erased a 2-1 Jets lead. Pavelec and defenceman Mark Flood were conspiring to freeze a loose puck near Pavelec’s right post. The goalie had his blocker over top of the puck but the referee refused to blow his whistle and allowed Smith to dig it out and chip it back into the cage.

It was the second NHL goal in four days in which a goalie had a puck covered but couldn’t get a whistle. (See Montreal’s overtime loss to Pittsburgh last weekend, and the Habs’ caustic reaction.) The fans at the MTS Centre booed this one, and again in the intermission when the P.A. announcer was recapping the scoring.

“That happened two nights ago in Montreal in overtime,” Pavelec said. “And (tonight) there was a three-on-two at the beginning of the second period and I made a save and the referee waited four seconds to blow the whistle. Like come on, what are you waiting for?

“I don’t have glue on my pads. How do you want me to cover that puck? I think I had that puck. I think he made a bad call. He was there. But it’s no excuse at all. We’ve got to be better around the net.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

JETS REPORT C3