The Winnipeg Jets aren’t used to losing, especially by multiple goals, let alone three.
The Jets dropped a 4-1 decision in Boston Monday night. It’s the first time since a 5-2 loss to Vegas on Nov. 2 that Winnipeg has lost by three goals and allowed more than three goals in a single game.
The Jets looked anything but the team that has rocketed up the NHL’s standings into third place overall as their five-game road winning streak came to a screeching halt.
“Just effort and execution,” said Jets forward Kyle Connor who was named as an injury replacement for the all-star game earlier in the day. “I thought we were really sloppy in passes and just not on the same page, and you can’t do that against a team like this.
“I think it’s all about us. We can play against any team. We showed that. I think we were just a little timid. For some reason guys weren’t gapping up the way we needed to. I felt like we sat back a little too much. We got to play on our toes and be a little more aggressive.”
It’s also just the third regulation loss for Winnipeg since the start of December, though it’s their second in their last four games.
Charlie Coyle had a goal and an assist in Boston’s fifth straight victory.
Vladislav Namestnikov scored the lone goal for the Jets.
The shots finished at 21 apiece, but the Jets could only muster six shots on net in the first period, and only four shots in the second.
“That’s probably the worst game we’ve had in a long time with our breakouts,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. “We were slow moving it and the passes were soft. So, that allows Boston to play their game. So, I think if we had moved the puck quicker and harder then you wouldn’t be asking me that question. So, I put more of it on us than I do Boston.
“It was a tough game. It was a grind it out game, but the best period we put in was the third. We hope you get that second goal. We didn’t get it.”
The four goals scored by Boston, including an empty netter, ended a streak of 34 straight games of the Jets allowing three goals or fewer, which is just one short of the NHL’s modern-day record of 35 games held by the Minnesota Wild.
“Empty-netter, so, is there an asterisk on it? I don’t know,” joked defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “It was a great streak. Time to get it going again. So, we got a lot to learn from a game like this going forward. Get some rest and another big game in Toronto.”
It didn’t take long for the home team to strike, jumping in front just 2:20 into the first period.
The Jets were caught chasing in their own end, and eventually a bouncing puck was corralled by Trent Frederic. He sent a pass back-door to Jakub Lauko, who tapped it home for his second of the year.
But Winnipeg responded quickly, drawing even less than two minutes later. After a Bruins turnover in their own end, Cole Perfetti sent the puck back to the point where DeMelo blasted a shot that beat Jeremy Swayman. He was initially given credit but it was later changed to Namestnikov, who got a piece of the shot on the way.
It stayed 1-1 through most of a fairly uneventful first period but Boston took the lead with 1:34 to go before intermission. Coyle deflected a Hampus Lindholm point shot past Connor Hellebuyck to give the home side a lead through 20 minutes.
Winnipeg outshot the Bruins 6-5 in the first and started the second on a power play but were unable to generate any shots, nor were they able to do much offensively through the whole middle frame as they played without Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi.
Boston carried the bulk of play through the second period, outshooting the Jets 10-4 thanks in part to a pair of power plays and multiple long shifts in the Winnipeg end but the score remained 2-1 after 40 minutes.
Winnipeg sprung to life in the third as they pushed to find the equalizer, outshooting the Bruins 8-2 at one point in the period but they were unable to beat Swayman.
Boston had a chance to put the game away on a power play with just over seven minutes left but couldn’t score, and before the power play expired Lindholm was called for interference, but just after the Jets penalty expired, the Bruins extended their lead.
Boston carried the puck up the ice while it was still four-on-four, with Jake DeBrusk finding Morgan Geekie for a net-drive. As he went to the net, all four Jets players collapsed towards the net while Nino Niederreiter, stepping out of the box, had yet to get back into the Winnipeg end.
The puck was poke-checked off the stick of Geekie by Hellebuyck but it went right to DeBrusk, who buried the shorthanded tally to make it 3-1 with 5:25 remaining.
Winnipeg did nothing with the ensuing power play and Brad Marchand scored into an empty net to make it 4-1 and end the Jets impressive run of consecutive games allowing three goals or less.
Both sides finished the game with 21 shots on goal as Hellebuyck stopped just 17 shots in defeat. It’s the first time he’s allowed three goals in a game since a 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal Dec. 18 and the first time he’s let in three goals in regulation since a 6-3 win over New Jersey Nov. 14.
The Jets wrap up this three-game road trip in Toronto on Wednesday night.
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