After earning points in their first six games out of the Olympic break, and moving within five points of a playoff spot, the idea of the Winnipeg Jets making the playoffs started to feel like something more than a just a far-fetched proposition.
But the Jets looked nothing like a playoff team Tuesday night against Anaheim, suffering a 4-1 loss that revealed a squad that looked more like it belonged in the draft lottery conversation.
The Jets surrendered three goals in the span of just 1:44 in the second period, including goals just 14 seconds apart and they had just 13 shots on goal in ending their three-game win streak.
“We laid a big fat egg,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “We didn’t execute. We didn’t compete on pucks, chased the game, chased the whole game. They had the puck most of the night and when we did have it, we turned it over. We didn’t put it down low enough in their defensive zone to make them go to work. Just fed their transition, turnovers just inside the line or just outside the line. They’re too good of a hockey team to transition the other way. We just kinda kept feeding it.”
The loss also ended the Jets six-game point streak which was their longest of the season.
The Jets had just two shots in the first, five in the second and only six shots in the third period in getting outshot 35-13.
“It’s the execution,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “I think it was the whole night. I think if you go back and watch this first, we had opportunities to get odd-man rushes and we just miss on the play or we have opportunities to break the puck out and instead we turn pucks over.
“Just start to finish we weren’t very good. We’re gonna have to learn from that. We’re gonna have to come to the rink tomorrow and we still got belief in this group and get ready for our game on Thursday.”
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It’s the first time the Ducks have won in regulation in Winnipeg since January of 2017.
Morgan Barron scored for the Jets as they could only muster a single goal on the second worst defensive team in the NHL.
“It just wasn’t a good enough effort I think throughout the whole game from us,” said Barron. “There’s definitely a lot we can do better, I think. Just taking over pucks and finding ways to put pucks behind them. We made the life easy on them probably tonight and they made us pay.”
Josh Morrissey set a new franchise record for most games by a defenceman as he passed Toby Enstrom with his 720th career game with the Jets.
Neither team found the back of the net in a snoozy first period that saw Winnipeg get just two shots on goal despite having the only power play of the period. Anaheim managed to get eight shots on goal but, like Winnipeg, couldn’t generate much in terms of dangerous chances.
But the chances started coming for both teams early and often in the second.
Alex Iafallo nearly scored in the first two minutes when he burned down the left wing into the Anaheim zone and fired a shot that Lukas Dostal muffed with his glove, sending the puck trickling just millimetres wide of the post.
Not long after the Ducks hit the post, Gustav Nyquist made a great play in the offensive zone to set up Isak Rosen with a fairly open net but his shot was knocked away by the skate of Dostal.
Just past the five-minute mark of the second, the Jets broke the ice as Barron deflected a point shot from Elias Salomonsson past Dostal for his 10th of the season.
But the joy in the building was short-lived as the Ducks would strike three times in less than two minutes.
Tim Washe beat Kyle Connor in a puck battle at the Winnipeg point, getting it over to Jansen Harkins. He skated to the far faceoff dot before stopping and firing a shot on goal that Hellebuyck stopped but Washe got his stick on the rebound and knocked it into the net to tie the game with his second career NHL goal.
Just 14 seconds later, Ryan Poehling tipped an Alex Killorn point shot off the post and in to give the Ducks their first lead of the night.
90 seconds after that, Anaheim made it 3-1 off a sloppy Jets turnover. Brad Lambert tried to chip the puck to Cole Koepke at the Winnipeg blue line but Koepke missed it, allowing Poehling to knock it back into the zone to Killorn for a 2-on-1 with Jeffrey Viel. Killorn kept it and beat Hellebuyck with a wrist shot from the faceoff dot.
Winnipeg held on for dear life from there as they were outshot 20-5 in the period, but the score stayed 3-1 going to the third.
The Jets earned their second power play look of the night just 40 seconds into the third but weren’t able to cash in, getting just one shot on goal in the two minutes.
With their team reeling, the Winnipeg faithful started to get restless. When the Jets finally registered their tenth shot on goal of the game just past the midway point of the third, the Canada Life Centre gave a hearty Bronx cheer.
They then cheered loudly after two subsequent shots on goal in the following moments, culminating in an arena-wide chant of “shoot the puck.”
Things continued to look dire for Winnipeg when Cole Perfetti was called for high-sticking with 5:21 to go but the Anaheim power play didn’t last long as Beckett Sennecke was called for interference just 22 seconds later.
With just over three minutes left, Hellebuyck went to the bench for an extra attacker and not long after, the Ducks had a great chance to ice the game but Olen Zellweger hit the post.
Winnipeg hit the crossbar with just under a minute to go but just moments later, Jackson Lacombe hit the empty net from his own end to put things away.
The Jets will look to bounce back Thursday night against the New York Rangers. The puck drops just after 7 p.m. with pregame coverage on 680 CJOB beginning just after 5 p.m.
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