The Winnipeg Jets could not complete the comeback Tuesday night, rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the third, before falling to the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 in overtime to drop their fourth straight game.
The Jets scored two goals only a minute apart in the final frame to tie the game, but Zach Hyman scored just over a minute into the extra period to end the Oilers short two-game losing streak, while forcing the Jets to settle for a single point.
“The first period showed you how good we can be,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness who returned to the bench after a four-game medical leave absence. “And then the second period shows you how bad we are when we get away from the way we’re supposed to play.
“It was terrible puck management at their blueline and a couple of really bad (line) changes and it cost us the goal. So that’s self-inflicted. So, it’s just not one moment, it’s too many. But that’s creating your own problems.”
The Jets special teams continue to struggle as they went 0-for-5 on the man advantage, while also surrendering a power play goal.
“It’s another night that our specialty teams cost us the game,” Bowness said.
But after failing to get a point in their last three outings, it was at least a step in the right direction.
“We were down 3-1 and we battled back,” said Bowness. “So there’s a lot of fight in there. We just have to stop beating ourselves.”
Mason Appleton, Brenden Dillon and Sean Monahan scored for the Jets and Neal Pionk recorded a pair of assists in a losing cause in front of a sellout crowd of 15,225 fans.
“Bones (Bowness) challenged us as a group and we know how good they’re been going over there for the last 40-50 games,” said Dillon. “Both teams fighting for some home ice advantage. And the best player in the world, I think we answered the bell on that. And like you said, frustrating that we can’t get the second point.”
The single point helped the Jets avoid their first four-game losing streak in regulation since April of 2022.
“We found a way to get back in the game,” said forward Nino Niederreiter. “Scored a couple goals there and yeah, a tough loss at the end. We got to find a way to get the win.”
Winnipeg came out of the gates flying, generating a number of solid scoring chances but they couldn’t beat Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner. The Jets also had a power play just over four minutes into the game but couldn’t convert.
Monahan had the closest call of the period when his shot from the slot hit the crossbar and the post but didn’t go in as the score remained tied at zero after 20 minutes with Winnipeg outshooting the Oilers 13-10.
Winnipeg broke the deadlock 4:43 into the second period. Kyle Connor’s shot on goal was deflected by Adam Lowry, and after Skinner kicked the puck right to the stick of Appleton, the winger made no mistake for his 14th of the season.
Edmonton pushed hard for the equalizer with Evander Kane, the former Jet who still gets booed in Winnipeg, getting a breakaway in the second but he was turned aside by Connor Hellebuyck, who also stopped an attempt on the rebound as well.
But moments after Niederreiter nearly made it 2-0 Winnipeg, the Oilers got on the scoreboard.
Connor McDavid brought the puck into the Winnipeg end and commanded lots of attention as he passed the puck to Warren Foegele. He then found Leon Draisaitl cutting through the slot and he beat Hellebuyck to even the score at the 11:46 mark.
Less than two minutes later, Edmonton took their first lead of the night thanks to an unlikely source. With several tired Jets stuck on the ice, Mattias Ekholm brought the puck into the Winnipeg end and sent the puck to Connor Brown in the slot. He then used Dylan DeMelo as a screen as he ripped one high over Hellebuyck’s glove to make it 2-1 with just his third goal of the season.
Winnipeg was given a great chance to draw even less than a minute later when Brown was called for a high-sticking double minor, but the Jets did not get a shot on goal during the entirety of the four-minute power play, eliciting some boos from the sold-out crowd.
With one minute to go in the period, the Jets were called for having too many men on the ice, sending the potent Oilers power play to the ice. They did not score before the horn sounded to end the period but it was a period dominated by the visitors as they outshot the Jets 17-4 and completely controlled the game after Appleton’s goal.
After the Jets killed off the remainder of that penalty to start the third, the two sides played some four-on-four hockey before Nikolaj Ehlers was assessed a double-minor for high-sticking.
Edmonton wasted little time cashing in on the opportunity. McDavid carried the puck along the wall into the Jets’ end and sent a perfect pass back-door to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who steered it in to make it 3-1.
Winnipeg killed the rest of the penalty and began to push back with an agitated Ehlers throwing his weight around, landing several big hits as the Jets pinned Edmonton in their own end. Moments later, Dillon blasted one from the point that beat a screened Skinner to make it 3-2 with 10:21 remaining.
Exactly one minute later, the game was tied when Monahan redirected an Ehlers shot through Skinner to send the building into a frenzy.
With 2:06 remaining, Nugent-Hopkins was given a minor penalty for high-sticking, with officials believing he caught Lowry up high. Replays showed it was in fact DeMelo’s stick that caught his captain, giving Edmonton good reason to be incensed at the bench. Nonetheless, the call gave Winnipeg’s power play a chance at redemption but they could not convert, sending the game to overtime.
After Connor gave the puck away in the Edmonton end, Nugent-Hopkins rushed the puck back the other way. Fresh off the bench, Hyman took a pass from Nugent-Hopkins and drove hard to the net. His initial shot was stopped but he banged in the rebound for his 51st of the season and the game winner.
Hellebuyck was saddled with the loss despite making 38 saves, while Skinner turned aside 22 shots in victory.
The Jets will look to snap their losing skid Thursday night when they host the Vegas Golden Knights. Pregame show will begin on 680 CJOB at 5 p.m., with puck drop just after 7 p.m.
Comments