If the Winnipeg Jets are going to start winning hockey games consistently, they’re going to have to stop digging themselves deep holes that they can’t escape from.
Despite long stretches of solid play, the Jets could not overcome a three-goal deficit in falling to the Dallas Stars 4-3 Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre.
Just like in Edmonton Saturday and Buffalo last Monday, the Jets wasted no time in falling behind on the scoreboard.
With Winnipeg’s top line and top d-pairing on the ice to start the game, the Stars hemmed the Jets in their own end before an Esa Lindell point shot beat Eric Comrie through traffic 44 seconds into the contest.
The Jets earned a power play a short time later, hoping to level the score. Instead, a blind backhand pass from Kyle Connor in his own end landed right on the stick of Sam Steel, giving him a breakaway that Comrie turned aside.
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Despite the rocky first few minutes, the Jets did have some decent stretches of play. Gabriel Vilardi had a couple of good chances, getting turned in close on the aforementioned power play and hitting the crossbar late in the period.
Winnipeg also killed off a Dallas power play en route to outshooting the Stars 11-6 through 20 minutes, but they continued to trail 1-0 into the second period.
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The Stars began the second with 1:32 of power play time thanks to a suspect tripping call on Morgan Barron late in the first, and they made the Jets pay.
With the power play winding down, Jason Robertson sent the puck down low to Wyatt Johnston. The puck slid off his stick and through the crease to Mikko Rantanen, who slid it in front to Roope Hintz for a tap-in as Comrie was swimming out of position.
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It went from bad to worse for Winnipeg as Dallas extended the lead 75 seconds later. Logan Stanley was stripped of the puck below the goal line by Mavrik Bourque, who circled in front and lost the handle on the puck before regaining it. He slid the puck to the point where Alex Petrovic blasted a shot through traffic that beat Comrie at the 2:31 mark.
With little energy in the building, the Jets needed a spark, and they got it with just over 11 minutes gone in the second.
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Nils Lundkvist had the puck behind his own net and tried to make a stretch pass up the middle, which was a bad idea because Mark Scheifele got in the way, knocking the puck down. It wound up on the stick of Connor, who held it for a moment before firing a pass back to Scheifele that he wired past Casey DeSmith for his 15th of the season.
Winnipeg earned a power play with 3:14 left in the period, and while they didn’t score with the man advantage, it led directly to a goal that made it a one-goal game.
Moments before Johnston stepped out of the penalty box, Miro Heiskanen blocked a shot but it broke his stick, so he couldn’t clear the puck. This created a scramble in the corner as Johnston tried to skate back into the play.
But before he could arrive on the scene, Winnipeg won the puck battle. Connor got the puck back to Morrissey, who sent it across to Scheifele for a one-timer that beat DeSmith up high for his second of the night.
Winnipeg outshot the Stars 14-8 in the second for a two-period advantage of 25-14, but they still trailed 3-2 where it mattered most heading to the third.
And if the Jets were going to complete the rally, they could have to buck some trends to do so. The Stars entered the night with a perfect 12-0 record when leading after 40 minutes while Winnipeg was 1-9 when trailing after two.
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Just over three minutes into the third, Dylan DeMelo was sent off for high-sticking, and Dallas struck gold on the power play for the second time in the game.
The Stars cycled it around and around before setting up the perfect play. Robertson was set up at the faceoff dot to Comrie’s left, and got the puck from Hintz who was below the goal line. Robertson sent it back to the point to Heiskanen, who sent it to the other side to Rantanen, back to Heiskanen, back to Robertson, over to Heiskanen and back to Robertson again for a one -timer that Comrie had no chance of stopping.
That goal came at the 4:46 mark of the third, but just 68 seconds left, the lead was cut back to one.
The puck bounced around the slot in the Dallas end with several players unable to get a handle on it before Stanley jumped into the play. He collected it and sent a shot on goal that was stopped but the rebound careened right back to him and he deposited the puck into an open net for his fourth of the season.
Winnipeg had some good looks on a power play a few minutes later but couldn’t cash in. Likewise, the Stars nearly extended the lead on a power play but couldn’t quite click.
The Jets were once again granted a man advantage with 2:30 remaining when Rantanen was sent off for tripping, giving them a golden opportunity to try and tie the game and with 90 seconds to go, Comrie went to the bench to make it a 6-on-4.
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But the Jets never got set up in the Dallas end as the clock ran down to zero, a disappointing end to a game where Winnipeg showed stretches of promise but once again failed to get two points in the standings.
Comrie stopped 15 shots in defeat while DeSmith made 30 saves as Dallas extends their points streak to 11 games. Winnipeg falls to 2-7-1 since Connor Hellebuyck went on injured reserve.
The Jets are back in action Thursday night when they host Boston. Pregame coverage starts just after 5 p.m. with the puck dropping just after 7 p.m.