The Afterburners: Jets Unable to Rally in Raleigh, Fall to 'Canes 2-1

For the second straight game, the Jets fell behind their opponents 2-0 in the first period. For the second straight game, the Jets outshot their opponents by a roughly 2-to-1 margin. And unfortunately, for the second straight game the Jets failed to earn two points.

In another frustrating result for the Jets and their fans, the Carolina Hurricanes were able to make their two early goals stand up as they defeated the Jets by a 2-1 margin. Despite outshooting Carolina 14-2 in the third period, on top of a Tanner Glass tip off the post and a Kyle Wellwood breakaway chance that was shot over the net, the Jets were unable to find the equalizer in a very winnable game. It is these types of games that we may look back at later this season and wonder what if?

The loss drops the Jets to 22-21-6 on the season, and their 50 points keeps them at 10th spot in the East. If the loss wasn't bad enough, the Maple Leafs shutout the Islanders tonight and now stand at 53 points, tied with the Washington Capitals for 8th spot. The Jets still have one more game left before the All-Star Break in which to improve morale, but unfortunately it is the dreaded back-to-back game (which we are 0-for-7 so far) tomorrow night against the Eastern powerhouse New York Rangers. Yikes.

1st Period: 3:55 CAR Jeff Skinner 14 (Tim Gleason) 9:28 CAR Tim Brent 6 (Anthony Stewart)

2nd Period: 13:47 WPG Kyle Wellwood 9 (Tobias Enstrom, Nik Antropov)

3rd Period: No Scoring

Shots: WPG 30 CAR 16

3 Stars: 1. Cam Ward 2. Jeff Skinner 3. Kyle Wellwood

Thoughts From the Tarmac

• First things first - I missed the first two periods so I'm relying on the boxscore for the first 40 minutes. However, I did catch most of the 3rd period and our spirited yet in the end futile effort to tie up the game.
• The last two games were incredibily important matchups versus divisional opponents, and the Jets just couldn't get it done. One point against Florida and Carolina? Ouch. Teams intent on making the playoffs can't afford to only put one point in the bank here.
• However, it's not like the effort isn't there. The Jets fired 74 shots on goal in the past two games, but only 4 managed to light the lamp. The 5.4% shooting percentage is unfortunately further proof that our team struggles offensively.
• Outshooting the opposition 14-2 in the third period shows that we can overwhelm other teams when the desperation is there. As I said, I missed the first, but I'm guessing we didn't come out with the same desperation to start the game. That is two straight games where we went down 2-0 in the 1st. A troubling trend.
• Kyle Wellwood nearly tied the game late in the 3rd when he had a partial breakaway, and unfortunatley he tried his best Craig Smith impression and put his wrister off the top of the glass instead of in the top shelf. What a huge that goal could have been.
• The ice looked awful in the 3rd period, as Jets were falling down everywhere.
• Zach Bogosian continues to be a bright spot though. Leads the team wiht 26:00 of ice-time and 6 shots. Not too shabby Bogo.
• I picked on Welly two points ago, but lets be serious here. He did score the only goal for us, extending his point streak to 5 games (1 goal and 6 assists). At $700k you can't ask for anything more. Well, other then roofing that wrister to tie the game... But I digress.
• Toby was the only Jet to finish with a plus rating (+1 obviously), and he added another assist in 24:38 of ice-time. I like this guy.
• We really miss Dustin Byfuglien and Evander Kane. Offense isn't exactly a strength of ours at the best of times, but it has all but dried up without these two.
• What is going on with Eric Fehr? Nine shifts and 7:30 of ice-time. I have been giving him the benefit of the doubt of late due to his shoulder injury, but by now shouldn't he be doing something?
• I've been looking at the roster of late, especially the forward units. The GST line is a pretty solid shutdown line, but after that what do we have? On a good team, I see a bunch of 2nd liners and a potential 1st line winger in Evander Kane. The line construction of our squad leaves a bit to be desired IMO. Chevy has his work cut out for him this summer I do believe, regardless of where we finish.