TORONTO — If it were simply a matter of rinse and repeat, it would be a lot easier for the Winnipeg Jets to attack the root cause of this recent tailspin.
On this night, however, the Jets looked nothing like a team that had been struggling to score goals, but also looked nothing like a team that had come out of the holiday break playing a determined style when it came to the commitment to defensive structure.
Despite scoring five goals and chasing Maple Leafs starting goalie Joseph Woll after building a 4-1 advantage in the second period, the Jets got loose defensively and dropped a 6-5 decision on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.
“How do we turn it around? I don’t have a single answer for you. It doesn’t involve me talking here for five minutes,” said Jets forward Gabe Vilardi, who scored a goal and added an assist. “There’s a lot of things that we can clean up and continue to talk about and work on and it’s got to translate to the game, though.
“Today the structure wasn’t as good. The last two games, you could say, were probably our best defensive games of the season. Obviously, we didn’t get the scoring, and then tonight, we get the scoring, but the structure isn’t there. So, it’s another game, another loss, and it’s frustrating.”
The season-high losing streak has reached eight games (0-5-3), with seven of those being one-goal losses and the eighth was only by two because of an empty-net goal.
“Man oh man. In the last three years, we were one of the best teams in the league in one-goal games and a lot of the same guys are here. To me that’s a mindset,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “That means you’re doing the right things to get yourselves there and now all of a sudden, now you’ve really got to dig in. It’s got to be the shot blocking, the wall plays, the netfront battles, having the responsibility of making sure the puck gets out of our zone into their zone. Those are all things that, when you’re on your game, they become habits and it’s continuous habits.
“Right now, we’re trying to get guys to be consistent with it.”
Instead of finally finding a way to win, the Jets are left to decipher another game that got away in dramatic fashion.
Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Toronto Maple Leafs players celebrate Auston Matthews’ game-winning third period goal as Winnipeg Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi skates away Thursday in Toronto.
One that included Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews scoring a power-play marker with 2.9 seconds to go in the second period to make it a one-goal, to name one of the many things that helped cue the comeback.
“We finally score some goals and then implode the other way,” said Arniel. “If you see a shift that was awesome, guys doing all the right things, then the next time that same group went out there and it was the opposite. That is a tough one. A tough one for our group.”
The Jets are scheduled to take Friday off and they’ll close out this three-game road trip on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.
Let’s take a closer look at what transpired in this game:
THE SNUB
Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Mark Scheifele celebrates his second goal of the game during third period, giving him 20 goals so far this season.
For the second time in as many years, Scheifele was not included on Team Canada’s roster for a best-on-best tournament, despite being one of the top-scoring players in the NHL.
After missing out on the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, Scheifele went on a mission to try and show that he deserved to be an Olympian.
During the calendar year, Scheifele scored 35 goals and recorded 88 points.
On Thursday, he scored twice and added an assist to move him to 20 goals and 48 points in 39 games — leaving him on pace for career-bests in most offensive categories.
Scheifele spoke to reporters for the first time since getting the news and he handled the questions with class.
Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Jets’ Morgan Barron makes a pass as he falls while Toronto Maple Leafs’ Bobby McMann looks on during the second period.
“Yeah, it sucked. Pretty dark day. It’s hard to think about now after kind of turning the page to this morning. Obviously it was a tough day. News that you don’t want. It just shows the amount of talent in Canada. There’s so many great hockey players, so many great guys. It’s an honour to be a part of this country, just because there are so many great hockey players. I obviously wish I was picked. But God’s got a plan and I’ve just got to trust it.”
Scheifele confirmed he will remain in the Olympic testing protocol, meaning he’s one of the players under consideration to be added in case of an injury.
Did Scheifele feel there was anything else he could have done to bolster his case to be on the team?
“Yeah, I don’t know what else I could have done. I’m proud of the way I played all season to now,” said Scheifele. “I think I’m probably playing the best hockey I have in my career.”
THE RETURN
Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Eric Comrie makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period.
After watching Connor Hellebuyck make eight consecutive starts, Eric Comrie was back between the pipes in a game for the first time since Dec. 11 against the Boston Bruins.
Comrie looked calm early, outwaiting Matthew Knies on a breakaway chance and making several stops, but by the time the final buzzer had sounded, he allowed six goals on 30 shots on goal.
There was some indecision and miscommunication on the game-winning goal as Comrie mishandled the puck behind the net as he tried to push it to Neal Pionk initially and then was unable to cover it.
Easton Cowan stole the loose puck and got it in front for Matthews as he completed the hat trick.
That dropped Comrie’s save percentage to .880 and raised his goals-against average to 3.49 in his 16 starts as his record dropped to 6-9-1.
It’s a busy month for the Jets, who appear in 16 games in January, so Comrie is going to have to shake this off, since he’ll need to make several more starts before the Olympic break.
Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews celebrates one of his three goals against the Winnipeg Jets in Toronto on Thursday.
THE KEY PLAY
Auston Matthews scored his third goal of the contest with 4:22 to go in regulation time for the game-winner.
THE THREE STARS
1. Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, 3G, 1A
2. Mark Scheifele, Jets, 2G, 1A
Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll was was given the hook in second period Thursday night after giving up four goals on 17 shots.
3. Dennis Hildeby, Maple Leafs, 22 saves in relief.
EXTRA, EXTRA
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
The Warm-Up
Winnipeg Jets Game Days
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
Alex Iafallo and Dylan DeMelo also scored for the Jets.
Jets centre Jonathan Toews chipped in an assist, giving him three helpers during his past four games coming out of the holiday break.
The Jets made a pair of changes to the lineup, inserting Colin Miller for Luke Schenn on defence and Cole Koepke for Nino Niederreiter up front.
Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Winnipeg Jets’ Cole Perfetti (91) and Toronto Maple Leafs’ Matthew Knies (23) battle for the puck as Jets’ Alex Iafallo (9) looks on during the first period.
Niederreiter is one of several Jets forwards stuck in an offensive funk, having gone 14 games without recording a point. It’s the first time he’s been a healthy scratch since joining the Jets. Arniel said scratching Niederreiter was related to the Jets busy schedule, which includes three games in four days.
winnipegfreepress.com/kenwiebe
Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.
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