The Winnipeg Jets have been rattling off some win streaks recently, which means there will inevitably be a stinker or two at some point. All good things must come to an end, right? Despite the inevitability of defeat, you’d probably prefer it not to come at the hands of the last-place team in the NHL. Unfortunately for the Jets, they found that rolling in the deep of the standings occasionally manifests in a defeat stolen from the jaws of victory.
Things looked to get off to a pretty decent start, with Winnipeg dominating much of the first period. The Blue Jackets, while speedy, seldom created much of anything out of their rushes. Winnipeg had the best looks, but failed to solve Joonas Korpisalo. Leaving a team like Columbus within reach of a win is always a bad idea, but Kyle Connor decided scoring was much better. He rifled a beautiful power play goal through Korpisalo right before the end of the first period, giving the Jets the much-deserved lead.
Winnipeg continued the second period much as the first started, controlling play and pressuring the Blue Jackets. Unfortunately, the Jets started to run into discipline issues with a few careless penalties. Our old friend, Patrik Laine, punished Winnipeg’s folly to tie the game. With Winnipeg’s issues finishing against Korpisalo, I was admittedly getting a bit nervous. The Jets getting goalied while Ehlers rides pine and the bottom-6 sees more ice-time than it should seldom leads to anything good…
My concerns were validated when Kent Johnson scored a greasy squeaker through Rittich’s armpit. Big Save Dave was having a pretty good night up until then, but will probably kick himself for the concession. The scoreline was hardly his fault, though. Winnipeg’s forwards just couldn’t get the job done when it counted most. Boone Jenner rubbed salt into the wound with an empty-netter and Winnipeg opened a tough Eastern road trip with defeat. Not great, Bob!
Five Takeaways
- Bones has some sort of beef with Ehlers right now, and it couldn’t be happening at a worse time. It’d be great if the coaching staff actually deployed its best attacker.
- The power play is dire. Going 1-for-7 when you have two 5-on-3 opportunities is unacceptable. The puck movement and over-reliance on KFC continues to be a sticking point.
- Dubois has been a bit of a liability recently. He’s still giving offensively, but the penalty-taking is getting ridiculous.
- Pionk pls i beg
- Winnipeg now faces off against New Jersey, the team most likely to land Timo Meier. Hope the Jets can rip them a new one.
