Jets fall to Sharks 3-2 in OT

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This article was published 05/02/2019 (2405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

First they lost a top defenceman to injury. Then they lost a power-play goal to an offside challenge. Then they lost a third-period lead. Then they lost a puck on an overtime power play.

Then, perhaps fittingly, they lost the game. Yes, it was a night of lost opportunities and, ultimately, a lost point as the Winnipeg Jets fell 3-2 to the San Jose Sharks at Bell MTS Place Tuesday night.

Joe Pavelski scored on a short-handed two-on-one rush after Jets winger Patrik Laine had the puck stolen off his stick in the offensive zone. The thief was all-star defenceman Brent Burns, who fed Pavelski for the winner.

“I think any loss in overtime is a bit more frustrating than regulation, because you’re right there and you’re tasting it. We’ve done so well in overtime, so we can’t get too mad. But man, those are the ones you want,” said goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who made 35 saves, including several of the highlight-reel variety.

The Jets fall to 34-16-3 and remain on top of the Central Division. The defeat snapped a seven-game home winning streak. The Sharks won for a third straight game to improve to 31-16-7.

“I thought we did a pretty good job. We spent a lot of time forechecking, getting on their D for a while. Like they were struggling just to get out of their zone. We started kind of trading chances in the third, which is not what we want to do. But you know what, we got a point out of this game. I thought we played a decent game,” said forward Mathieu Perreault.

Coming off a 9-3 rout of the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, Winnipeg was looking to continue its strong play. The team got off to a good start when Blake Wheeler used San Jose defenceman Justin Braun as a screen and ripped a wrister past netminder Martin Jones just 3:08 into the game. It was the 11th of the season for the Jets’ captain. 

But then the Jets got into a bit of penalty trouble, with defencemen Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers whistled for infractions. Logan Couture made them pay, scoring just 13 seconds into Trouba’s penalty to tie the game.

Even worse, defenceman Josh Morrissey was drilled with a Kevin Labanc slapshot only seconds earlier. He limped off the ice and went straight down the tunnel to the dressing room.

The Sharks gained plenty of momentum from the goal and began coming in waves. Shots were 14-5 for the visitors through 20 minutes.

Morrissey was back to start the second period and had a good view as Perreault jumped on a loose puck just 54 seconds into the frame, giving the Jets a 2-1 lead. It was the 300th NHL point for the veteran winger.

“That was nice. Any time you can reach a milestone it’s always a good feeling. Would have been a better feeling if we had got the win,” said Perreault.

Following that shift, Morrissey left the bench again, this time for good. The club officially ruled him out for the rest of the game with a lower-body injury. That forced the Jets to play with just five defencemen for the rest of the game.

“Day-to-day, I guess. He may play in Montreal. We’ll see how he comes back (Wednesday). There’s no major concern on it. We’ll see how he’s feeling,” said head coach Paul Maurice.

The Jets appeared to take a 3-1 lead midway through the second period as Mark Scheifele converted from the slot with former teammate Evander Kane in the penalty box for tripping.

But San Jose successfully challenged that Trouba had put himself offside 10 seconds earlier. Scheifele’s team-leading 27th of the year was wiped out. It was a big gamble by the Sharks, as they faced being down two goals plus taking a delay of game penalty had they been wrong.

“Obviously, getting the goal called back hurt. That’s the difference in the game right there,” said Wheeler.

The Jets dominated the middle frame, outshooting San Jose 15-6.

“It kind of sucks, to be honest. It didn’t look like much. At first I didn’t think it was offside. Happened that it was, nothing that you can do about it, just have to regroup and go back. I thought we did a decent job of it,” said Perreault.

San Jose was much stronger in the third. Marcus Sorensen tied it up 2:35 into the final period, knocking home a loose puck.

The Jets got an opportunity to regain the lead midway through the period with Tomas Hertl sent to the box for running into Hellebuyck. Not only did they fail to convert on the power play, Hertl was sprung on a breakaway as soon as he stepped out of the box.

Hellebuyck made a great glove save, which kept it tied and helped get the game to overtime. Shots were 16-6 for the Sharks in the final period.

The Jets had a golden opportunity as they began overtime with a power play following a late delay of game penalty to the Sharks. San Jose killed it off, but gave Winnipeg another gift when they took a penalty for too many men on the ice. 

Yet it was the Sharks that would get the last laugh with the short-handed winner, capitalizing on a sluggish Jets power play. The Jets have been money this year when a game goes beyond regulation, with eight wins and just two losses prior to Tuesday.

“I liked our game better here than the game that we won in San Jose (in December). Lots of speed and got a lot of pucks to the net. So, parts of it were real good,” said Maurice, who was coaching in his 1,500th NHL game and got a warm ovation from fans and players on both teams when it was acknowledged during the game.

The Jets now hit the road for three games in four days, beginning Thursday night in Montreal. Weekend matinees in Ottawa and Buffalo will follow.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg