SLOPPY PLAY CAUSES JETS TO SPUTTER
Two goals negated and Lundqvist nullified all but one of the rest, Ken Wiebe writes.
Accountability has rarely been an issue for the Winnipeg Jets this season. So when forward Nikolaj Ehlers was surrounded by reporters following a 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday, it was no surprise he pointed the finger at himself for a turnover that changed the momentum.
“It was a stupid pass from me trying to make it into the middle there. It got picked off and they scored with, what was it — one and a half or two minutes left in the period,” Ehlers said. “It’s something that I have to take on me. We let them get back into the game in the second period and they kind of took over a little bit — stupid mistake.”
It was nothing more than a brain cramp at an inopportune time for Ehlers.
Up until that point, the Jets had been solid defensively, giving up only four shots on goal through 18 minutes and change before the neutral-zone turnover by Ehlers, who was a bit casual with the puck as he tried to find defenceman Tyler Myers.
Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello intercepted the pass, walked in alone and beat Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck through the five-hole with 66 seconds to go in the first period.
When asked about the poor puck management, Jets head coach Paul Maurice was quick to come to the defence of Ehlers, who scored the lone goal of the game for his club on a slapshot that changed direction off the stick of Rangers defenceman Anthony DeAngelo at 1:06 of the opening period.
“It’s just a goal. It didn’t happen with two minutes left to go in the game, so there’s lots of hockey to be good after that,” Maurice said. “(Ehlers) made a pass he shouldn’t make, but we had other guys running routes they don’t need to run that late in the period when you’re playing the way you’re playing. So once that pass was made, there should be coverage, and there wasn’t.
“We had the puck in our end of the ice a number of times. That puck that ended up in the back of our net is on our stick — it should be out. That’s a pretty clean play. We’ve got to handle that better.”
The Rangers came to life after the late marker and nearly took the lead on the ensuing shift but Hellebuyck robbed David Desharnais with a left skate save.
Instead of taking a lead into the intermission, the Jets were even and left to ponder the opportunities that were squandered.
After giving up the goal to Ehlers on the first shot on goal, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 37 consecutive shots — including 17 during the third period.
“Yeah, we had tons of chances. We had a goal taken back on the offside, too,” Jets forward Mathieu Perreault said. “We like where our game is at. We’ve been playing too well lately to get down on ourselves, so it’s just a couple games here, a couple bumps. We’re just going to put it behind us and move forward.”
The Jets have no other choice. After dropping consecutive games on home ice for the first time this season, the Jets welcome the Washington Capitals to Bell MTS Place on Tuesday as they continue a 10-game homestand.
The Jets had two goals disallowed, including one from Myers just 24 seconds into the contest after the Rangers used a coach’s challenge to argue the play was offside.
The Jets were unfazed by the delay and subsequent call, getting a goal from Ehlers less than a minute later.
With the game tied 1-1, Rangers forward Jimmy Vesey redirected home a point shot from Brady Skjei with 3:53 left in regulation time for what turned out to be the game-winner.
Jets centre Mark Scheifele, playing his second game since returning from a suspected shoulder injury, thought he had tied the game with 1:22 remaining, tipping home a Dustin Byfuglien shot. But the goal was waved off immediately for being scored with a high stick.
After video review, the call was upheld and the Jets were unable to score the equalizer.
Michael Grabner added an empty-netter for New York with 42.1 seconds to go.
“I thought the first period was really good and in the second period we got away from it because we were in the box for six minutes out of 20, (which) disrupted our rhythm a little bit,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said.
“You’d like to see one more go in so you can win the game. I think we liked the amount of chances we had, we just weren’t able to put it in.”
There’s little doubt the Jets raised their level of play after a lacklustre showing in the previous game and it’s far too early to sound any alarms — but it’s undeniable that things are tightening up in the Central Division.
With 26 games left in the regular season, the Jets remain in second place with a record of 32-15-9, are two points ahead of the St. Louis Blues and three up on the Dallas Stars.
“I don’t think we’re in a hole. We’re still playing good,” said Ehlers, who has 21 goals and 40 points in 56 games this season. “We just have to figure out a way to be consistent … We’re still playing really good, we just have to figure out a way to get those two points.”