No time to panic

DENVER — The Winnipeg Jets are running out of time to find their game.

And while Sunday afternoon isn’t technically a “must-win,” it sure feels like one given the current state of their first-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche.

An offensive explosion in the opener that led to a wild 7-6 victory masked some obvious issues which have become quite apparent in back-to-back defeats by scores of 5-2 and 6-2.

Bottom line: The NHL’s best defensive team during the regular-season has looked anything but during the playoffs, with no answer for the high-octane Avalanche. If that doesn’t change — and fast — the Jets are going to make a hasty exit into their off-season.

“You know what? In this room, we’ve got a lot of belief in this group, a lot of belief in our ability to get back in the series,” said captain Adam Lowry following Saturday’s practice at Ball Arena.

“It’s not a time to panic. It’s a time to double down on what we’re good at. We’ve got a real strong conviction in what’s got us here and what’s made us successful and I think that’s what allows us to stay calm. We know the areas of our game that we can improve upon. We know the areas we’ll need to improve upon if we’re going to beat an elite team like the Avalanche and we feel like we’re up for the challenge.”

A loss on Sunday and Winnipeg will head home down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, with their season on the brink and needing to rattle off three straight wins beginning Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre. But find a way to get a victory and it’s back to 2-2 with home-ice advantage once again in their back pocket.

“Just stay with it,” said defenceman Neal Pionk. “I know it’s cliché, but we’ve got to play a full 60.

“We have these five-, six-, seven-minute lapses that are really slipping away from us. I think in a couple of games we’ve given up two, three goals in a five-minute span. So we’ve got to stick with it and the leaders gotta lead. We’ve got to make some plays when they’re there, and if they’re not, flip it out and restart.”

Vezina Trophy favourite Connor Hellebuyck has now been torched for 15 goals in the three games (two others were empty-netters), which has led to questions about whether backup Laurent Brossoit could see some action?

“It’s Connor Hellebuyck’s net,” said coach Rick Bowness.

However, there could be lineup changes coming. Winnipeg called up forward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby from the Manitoba Moose on Saturday, and there’s a good chance he goes right in to help the leaky penalty kill.

“He gives us more speed and we need some help on the penalty kill at this point,” said Bowness. “If he plays, and we’ll talk about those things today, that’s what we’re going to use him on. Use his speed and use him on the penalty kill.”

There’s a good chance he would replace David Gustafsson on the fourth line. The Jets also have healthy forwards Cole Perfetti and Rasmus Kupari at the ready.

“We’re going to talk about those things,” is all Bowness would say.

The Jets may also have to make a switch on the blue line, with Brenden Dillon’s status uncertain after suffering a skate cut to his hand on Friday night. One of Logan Stanley or Colin Miller would draw in.

“Last night I think we look at the first 35 minutes of the game and we really like how we played,” Lowry said of building a 2-1 lead through two periods which then imploded in the final frame, thanks largely to five straight penalties.

“Our penalty kill has to do a better job. We’ve got to get a couple stops I think. It’s tough when you take that many penalties against a lethal power play like Colorado has. And you get down in the game and you take some more. Every game is going to be different in this series. We’re just going to look to bounce back. Kind of what Colorado did. We were able to get the upper hand in Game 1, they played really well in Game 2 and got the split. That’s our job now, to take care of business tomorrow.”

The temperature of the series sure kicked up a few degrees on Friday, especially in the final few minutes when all heck broke loss. That included Lowry dropping the gloves with Miles Wood.

“I think it’s just one of those things,” said Lowry. “There’s a lot of battles in the series. You don’t want to back down.

“It’s disappointing with how the game ended but I think it’s just making sure they know that we’re not just going to roll over. We’re going to be ready for Game 4. We’re going to push this thing and try to get back in the series tomorrow.”

Of course, the home team will have a say as well, and Colorado will be looking to keep the pressure on Winnipeg,

“This is a huge game,” said coach Jared Bednar.

“You can talk about it all you want, but you have to go and have to execute at the right time. Even through these first three games, it hasn’t been perfect but it’s been pretty good. We’re playing hard. We’ve been competitive. We’re trying to tighten things up on the defensive side while staying dangerous on the other side of it.”

The Avalanche have been getting contributions up and down the lineup, with nine skaters recording at least three points already through three games.

“It just seems like we’re playing a lot more up-pace. Everybody’s got energy and it’s kind of a full team effort rather than a couple of guys here, a couple of guys there, whatever,” said defenceman Josh Manson.

“Seems like everybody’s kind of rolling, skating hard, committed to offense, committed to defense, a little bit of that desperation, playoff desperation. It’s something you can’t fake. It’s something you can only feel once you get into those games. I feel like we’ve got that a little bit right now.”

That said, the Avalanche aren’t getting comfortable with the current state-of-affairs.

“Honestly, I don’t feel good at all,” said Manson.

“I mean, it’s better than being down, but I feel like everybody knows this now. But to quote Kobe Bryant, ‘the job’s not finished’, right? Yeah, it’s two wins in a row, and we’ve taken care of what we need to do here at home the first game, but I don’t think you feel good at all. It’s a seven-game series for a reason.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg