After their franchise-record 11-game win streak was snapped in Nashville the other night, the Winnipeg Jets looked to begin another streak against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. Unfortunately for the Jets, they didn’t get the outcome they were hoping for, dropping 2-1 in a shootout. However, they did manage to salvage one point, which will help them in the standings.
Mark Scheifele scored the lone goal for Winnipeg, his 34th of the season, as the Jets’ record now stands at 42-15-4. They will look to get back on track in New York on Tuesday when they face the Islanders. Their next four games will be on the road, beginning with New York, followed by Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Carolina to wrap up the trip.
Connor Hellebuyck, making his 46th start of the season, made 31 saves on 32 shots for a .969 SV%. On the other end, Ivan Fedotov made 29 saves, posting a .967 SV%.
Kyle Connor had a glorious chance in overtime to end the game, but Flyers forward Noah Cates made a game-saving stop with Fedotov down and out of position.
“We had our chances,” said Jets’ leading scorer Mark Scheifele. “Their guy (Cates) saved it. That’s one that goes in most nights.”
Jets head coach Scott Arniel praised the Flyers including Fedotov’s performance.
“The goaltender had a lot to do with it. Obviously, their team does a real good job of getting into shot lanes,” Arniel said. “You can’t criticize when guys are getting that many opportunities and looks. Two weeks ago, or earlier in the year, a lot of that would have gone in. Especially when we’re getting that much quantity.”
“You know, the last few games, goaltenders have made stops, and we’ve gotten snakebitten a couple of times. For us, it’s just about staying with it. Stick with what we’re doing, and some of those will start to go in.”
Late in the third period, the Jets had two massive chances on the power play to break the 1-1 tie, but they were unable to capitalize.
Call it bad luck or just poor execution, but the Jets’ power play is currently in a drought, going 0-for-15 over their last six games.
Although they still lead the NHL in power play efficiency, they need to break out of this slump, especially for a team that has operated at over 30% for most of the season.
“Yeah, I mean, those are the ones you’ve got to put away,” said Nikolaj Ehlers. “You’ve got to take advantage, and we haven’t been able to do that. I think our power play has improved over the last few games, at least in the right direction, but there are still too many mistakes and bad passes.”
Jets winger Morgan Barron made his return to the lineup after missing eight games due to an upper-body injury he suffered after hitting Montreal Canadiens centre Kirby Dach in late January.
In his return, Barron recorded four hits, one shot on goal, and drew two penalties late in the third period.
