Blown leads enough to give Jets a complex

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/04/2019 (2332 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. LOUIS — “You look nervous,” they chanted in full-throated unison, hoping to rattle the rookie netminder.

Winnipeg Jets fans at Bell MTS Place may as well have been directing that at their own team Thursday night rather than the St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Binnington. Because the Jets, with a golden opportunity staring them in the face, looked every bit the part of a group that simply couldn’t handle success.

Again.

It’s like groundhog day around these parts, an entirely predictable outcome that has become the calling card for these Jets. Now a season with so much promise is on the verge of ending with a thud.

An NHL-worst 11th loss of the season in which the Jets had a lead going into the third period was by far the most costly. And it didn’t have to be this way, not with a 2-0 lead that had Winnipeg just 20 minutes away from a 3-2 series lead over St. Louis.

The Jets would have probably survived an early penalty kill had they simply cleared the zone, only to whiff and give the Blues another chance, which Ryan O’ Reilly immediately capitalized on just 1:29 into the third period. 

The Jets could have done a better job of tying up the open man, Brayden Schenn, on that second, tying goal with 6:08 left in the period. 

Defenceman Jacob Trouba should have simply moved the puck out of his end, rather than the puzzling decision to try and freeze it behind his net, which eventually led to the winner by Jaden Schwartz, who was able to park himself in front of the net and get a stick on a Tyler Bozak feed with just 15 seconds left to play.

Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. The 2018-19 Winnipeg Jets in a nutshell.

For whatever reason, this group seems to fundamentally change the way they play based entirely on the score and the clock. And that’s not a good trait for a club with championship aspirations. Slow and steady wins the race. Frenzied and erratic gets you knocked out early.

Which brings me to Jets head coach Paul Maurice, who made the puzzling decision to shorten his bench with tons of time left on the clock, despite the fact all four lines had been rolling rather smoothly in building up the two-goal lead, which could have been more had the Jets been able to capitalize on other opportunities.

I certainly wasn’t alone in wondering whether that was sound strategy.

“You have third and fourth lines grinding and scoring. Defensively responsible. He responds by cutting his bench in half, rolling first and second lines for much of the third. It shows a lack of confidence in the bottom six that is undeserved, fatigues the top two lines and results in a loss that shouldn’t have been,” one NHL executive told me Friday.

He’s wrong in stating the Jets became a two-line team in the third, as Maurice continued to roll three lines consistently. However, they were a three-line team for much of the game. Mathieu Perreault (7:39), Jack Roslovic (8:27) and Kevin Hayes (9:39) saw limited action, especially as the night went on. His point regarding fatigue setting in is solid.

He’s right, too. We put all kinds of heat on players for their on-ice decision-making. The veteran bench boss has to wear some of this as well. And the number of times the Jets have been unable to lock down a game suggests the same mistakes are being made.

Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it, which might just be the epitaph for the Jets this season. You may wish to divert your eyes for a moment, here, as we review all the ways they’ve snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Oct. 16 at home to the Edmonton Oilers, the Jets turn a 4-1 lead into a 5-4 overtime loss.

Oct. 27 in Toronto, the Jets give up three goals, including the tying goal with 3:11 left and the winner with 2:45 left, as a 2-0 lead becomes a 3-2 defeat against the Maple Leafs.

Nov. 16 at home to Buffalo, a tenuous 1-0 lead turns into a 2-1 shootout loss to the Sabres.

Nov. 23 in Minnesota, a 2-0 advantage ends up in an ugly 4-2 loss to the Wild, including giving up the winner with 2:31 left.

Nov. 27 at home to Pittsburgh, Winnipeg gives up a pair in the third to turn a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 loss to the Penguins, including the winner with 5:12 left.

Feb. 5 at home to San Jose, a 2-1 lead becomes a 3-2 overtime loss to the Sharks.

Feb. 26 at home to Minnesota, the Wild score with 1:27 and 1:01 remaining to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory.

March 12  was not technically a blown lead, because it was tied through 40 minutes, but Joe Pavelski scored the winner for the Sharks with five seconds left to steal at least a point from the Jets. 

March 28 at home to the New York Islanders, a 4-2 lead is wiped out by three straight goals, including the tying goal with 1:46 left and the winner with 1:13 left, in a 5-4 crusher.

‏April 4 in Denver, a 2-1 lead became a 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche, which would essentially cost the Jets a shot at winning the Central Division title.

April 10 at home to St. Louis, clinging to a 1-0 lead in Game 1. David Perron ties it with 15:55 left and Tyler Bozak wins for the Blues it with 2:05 left.

Sheesh. Not a pretty picture, is it?

Add it up and the Jets are now just 27-7-4 when carrying a third-period lead, including 1-2-0 in this playoff series. To put that in perspective, they went 42-1-1 in that situation during the regular season in 217-18.

Even more bizarre is the Jets’ record when tied after two periods: 16-2-1, including 1-1 in this playoff series. How exactly to explain that, other than this team is basically its own worst enemy. They appear more comfortable playing when tied than they do with a lead.

It’s almost comical, really. Even captain Blake Wheeler couldn’t help but take a bit of a self-deprecating shot at his own team as he talked about trying to rebound from the latest implosion.

“We’ve done that a few times this year. So if anything, we can figure it out,” he said.

And that’s the thing about these Jets. I’m not prepared to count them out just yet. Going into St. Louis and coming away with another victory Saturday night is not an impossible task, especially with how well they played in Games 3 and 4 at Enterprise Center.

Despite the obvious struggles in doing anything the easy way, this team has also shown some resolve when things have looked especially bleak. Their two road victories in this series were examples of that, and now they’ll need one more.

The key is to shake off what Maurice referred to Friday as a “kick in the teeth” and fend off a Blues team that, you would think, can smell blood.

And, I suppose, not getting a lead heading into the third period. Because if they do, we know who’s likely going to look nervous.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg