WINNIPEG – Adam Lowry’s hero status lasted only a few short minutes.
Moments after tying the game with a tremendous goal late in the third period, Lowry lost a faceoff in his own zone and allowed Jay Beagle to skate to the net to score the game winning goal.
The Jets probably deserved a better fate but went home empty handed after a 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday at MTS Centre.
“It’s been really frustrating.” said Wheeler. “We’ve had some looks, had some offensive zone time, it just hasn’t resulted in goals. And that can really wear on a team, especially a team of guys that’s used to having some success offensively. Sometimes you just got to will it to happen.”
Winnipeg battled back from a two goal third period deficit only to give up the game winning goal with only 30 seconds remaining. The Jets outshot the Capitals 45-27 but once again ran into a hot goalie as Braden Holtby made 43 saves in the win.
“We’re talking about a team that gives up 25 shots a night on average so there’s clearly a lot of good things to get the puck to the net.” said head coach Paul Maurice. “We can find a handle on a few more and get to the net a little differently. Be a little sharper with how we move the puck at times, but it was a pretty solid game.”
The Capitals had goals from Beagle, Karl Alzner and Marcus Johansson, while Evgeny Kuznetsov recorded two assists.
Connor Hellebuyck started in goal for Winnipeg and made 24 stops. Lowry and Mark Scheifele scored goals for the Jets in the loss.
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“We played pretty well all night, so to give up a goal last 30 seconds after you’ve worked so hard, that sucks.” said Lowry.
Despite having the advantage in shots in all three periods, it wasn’t until the final 10 minutes when the Jets really started to come on strong.
“I think overall we played pretty good.” said Joel Armia. “Pretty sure we outshot them and we had a lot of good chances again.”
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The Jets powerplay once again failed to capitalize as they went 0-for-4 with the man advantage. With all the injuries on the Jets blueline Dustin Byfuglien logged a game high 30:51 of ice time.
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The two teams played more than 19 minutes of scoreless hockey before the Capitals found the goal in the opening period’s final minute. From the blueline, Alzner snuck a shot through a traffic jam of bodies, beating Hellebuyck for his second goal of the season. Johansson and Kuznetsov had the assists and Washington had a one goal lead after the opening period. The Jets outshot the Caps 14-8 in the period.
Midway through the second period the Capitals took advantage of a Jets turnover in the neutral zone. Kuznetsov carried the puck around the Jets net and sent a pass in front for Johansson. His one-timer was partially stopped by Hellebuyck but he couldn’t locate the puck and it ended up behind him. Johansson was credited with his sixth goal of the young season and it was 2-nothing Caps.
With two minutes left in the middle stanza the Jets came within inches of getting on the scoreboard. There was a mad scramble for a loose puck around Holtby. TJ Oshie was behind the goaltender and kept the puck out. The play went to review but the “no goal” call was upheld and it remained a two goal Capitals lead.
The Jets broke up Holtby’s shutout bid with 6:56 remaining. Wheeler fought off the defender, sending a one handed pass to Scheifele. Scheifele’s first shot was denied but he whacked in his own rebound. Ben Chiarot picked up the other assist on Scheifele’s fifth goal of the season.
Then with under three minutes to play Lowry out waited Holtby, showing some great patience to beat the reigning Vezina Trophy winner as the leagues top goaltender. Lowry picking a perfect time to score his first goal of the season, sending the Jets bench and the Winnipeg crowd into a frenzy. Armia had the only assist to tie the game at two.
But overtime would not be required as Beagle silenced the crowd quickly. After winning the draw, Beagle went to the net unchecked and slid in the backhand with only 30 seconds left in regulation to give the Capitals a 3-2 triumph.
Shawn Matthias fell awkwardly in the first period and appeared to injure his left knee. He had to be helped off the ice and he did not return. Mark Stuart did not even dress after getting hurt at the morning skate. Julian Melchiori was called up from the Moose and played in his first NHL game of the season.
The two teams will complete the back to back of the home and home series on Thursday in Washington as the Jets embark on a three game road trip.
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