Jets hanging on by a thread

DENVER — No structure. No discipline. No answers. No chance?

If they gave out a Stanley Cup for self-inflicted wounds, the Winnipeg Jets would be the heavy favourites, no question. But when it comes to the things that actually lead to winning meaningful hockey games, this group looks like pretenders, not contenders.

Take Sunday’s disaster here in Denver, an ugly 5-1 loss that has them heading home with their season hanging by a thread.

“Wanna take penalties. Wanna play a three-quarter ice game? You’re playing right into their hands,” a frustrated and clearly perplexed coach Rick Bowness said in the media room at Ball Arena.

Sure, they talked a good game prior to puck drop about all the things they needed to be better at. Then they went out and did the polar opposite.

After taking the series opener last Sunday, Winnipeg has dropped three straight games by a combined score of 16-5. Now, a Jets team that looks overmatched and underprepared for a faster, smarter opponent must find a way to win three straight elimination games, starting Tuesday at Canada Life Centre.

1) Pushing all the wrong buttons: This was not Bowness’ finest hour behind the bench. Let us count the ways.

With Brenden Dillon unavailable due to suffering a skate cut to his hand, Logan Stanley was put back in the lineup in his place. Colin Miller, obtained at the trade deadline, continues to be passed over, appearing in just five regular-season games and no playoff games despite being a better skater and puck-mover than Stanley.

It’s safe to say this decision backfired. Stanley turned the puck over in his own zone during a first-period shift, handing it directly to Casey Mittelstadt who fed Arttur Lehkonen for the opening goal at 8:10.

After Nate Schmidt tied the game later in the frame, Stanley got the parade to the penalty box started by taking two straight minors in the second for roughing and interference. Vlad Namestnikov (holding) and Niederreiter (roughing) would follow later in the period, with Colorado’s potent power play converting on both.

Bowness inserted Manitoba Moose callup Axel Jonsson-Fjallby into the lineup, saying he wanted to utilize his speed on the penalty kill. Yet Jonsson-Fjallby played a total of zero seconds on the PK Sunday, which ultimately went 2-for-4 and played a big part in the loss, just as it did in Friday’s implosion.

Following the game, Bowness talked about the need to find more offence for his group, explaining why he shuffled everything up in the third period including Jonsson-Fjallby — who has 10 career goals in 99 games — up on the second line with Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli.

Yet Cole Perfetti, who had 19 goals during the regular season, was a healthy scratch for a third straight game.

Another head-scratcher came with the Jets trailing by three and on the power play with just under seven minutes remaining. For some reason, Bowness opted not to pull his goaltender for an extra attacker in what was essentially a must-score scenario, only doing that with just under three minutes to play when it was much too late.

In a playoff series filled with counter-measures, it would appear Colorado’s Jared Bednar, who won the Stanley Cup in 2022, is leaving Bowness in the dust.

2) Troubling signs: Not only do the Jets look like a group that doesn’t have a clue, they sound like one, too. Bowness, Niederreiter and Mark Scheifele all spoke post-game, and nothing that came out of their mouths should inspire confidence that a comeback could be in the cards.

“Very far,” was Niederreiter’s blunt answer to a question about how close his team is to playing its best game. “We always have some stretches where we play very well and then we get stretches where we don’t play the way we should be playing.”

That would be troubling enough during the regular season, where there’s plenty of time left to get back on track, but playoffs are the ultimate test, and the Jets are flunking big-time.

“I think we’ve got to change our game plan. We have to make sure we don’t feed into their game. I think that’s what’s happening,” said Niederreiter.

Scheifele made repeated references to a lack of adjustments from his team, which some might interpret as a veiled shot at the coaching staff. Asked about Scheifele’s comments, Bowness responded with the following:

“Well, first thing is you have to stay out of the penalty box and then the penalty kill has to do their job. Second thing is we have to stop turning the puck over. Again, those things are self-inflicted. You want adjustments? Stay out of the box. Manage the puck better and go from there.”

As for that lack of discipline, how can a team continue to burn itself so badly? It was the same story in the third period Friday when the Jets took five straight minors and gave up two goals (and a third right after a power play expired).

Bowness didn’t seem to have a solution other than stating the obvious.

“Our issues are self-inflicted. You saw us play the right way for 10 minutes in the second half of the first period. You take four penalties, you turn the puck over. That’s exactly how they want to play. The issues are self-inflicted,” he said.

3) Stars not getting it done: Colorado’s best and brightest keep coming up big. Valeri Nichushkin had a hat trick (the final one into an empty net) and now has six goals in the series. Defenceman Cale Makar scored a spectacular end-to-end goal and now leads the Avalanche in scoring with eight points (two goals, six assists). Lehkonen (four goals, three assists), Nathan MacKinnon (two goals, five assists), Mikko Rantanen (six assists) and Mittelstadt (one goal, four assists) have all produced big-time.

Unfortunately for Winnipeg, their best players were anything but. Go up and down the list — Scheifele, Toffoli, Monahan, Niederreiter, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers and Gabe Vilardi can all be difference-makers, but were far too quiet for a game of this magnitude.

Debate who’s on the fourth line and third defence pairing all you want, but if you’re highest-paid players don’t come through, you don’t have much of a chance.

4) Hellebuyck hung out to dry: Goaltending has been a big storyline in this series, and not the way anyone imagined. While Alexandar Georgiev has rebounded nicely after a tough first game, Connor Hellebuyck has been lit up like a Christmas tree.

Hellebuyck was pulled after 40 minutes, giving up four goals on 30 shots.

“Give him a break,” Bowness said of the hook. “Just too much time in there having to make save after save. Just giving him a break. That’s not on him whatsoever. That’s on the players in front of him.”

He’s now been beaten 19 times on 146 shots through 11 periods of action, which are shocking numbers for the Vezina Trophy favourite.

Of course, the team in front of him hasn’t helped matters much with no sign of the tight defensive structure that earned them the William Jennings Trophy during the regular season for surrendering the fewest goals.

Laurent Brossoit stopped all four shots he faced in the final period, with Colorado content to sit back and nurse its sizable lead.

5) Here we go again? Puck drop for Game 5 Tuesday is set for 8:30 p.m. A loss and this would be the second straight year the Jets drop four straight to be ushered out of the first round.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Business Weekly

Monday mornings

The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.

Sign up for Business Weekly

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

“The only thing that matters is winning Tuesday night. There‘s your pushback, see how hard we go. We win Tuesday, we go from there. That’s all our focus right now is that,” said Bowness.

If the Jets win, they would force a Game 6 on Thursday in Denver. Game 7, if necessary, would be held Saturday in Winnipeg.

“We’ve got to wash this,” said Scheifele. “Flush it down the toilet and be excited to play in front of our amazing fans in Winnipeg and bring a better game and a more complete game through and through.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter

Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.

   Read full biography