Winnipeg Jets: Three Talking Points as the Jets Lose to the Blue Jackets
The Winnipeg Jets faced the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first time since November of 2019 at Nationwide Arena Wednesday night.
The Winnipeg Jets extended their losing streak to four games losing 3 – 0 to the Blue Jackets courtesy of a shutout by goaltender Elvis Merzlikins.
The big story leading into this game was the return of former Blue Jacket Pierre Luc Dubois for the first time since the blockbuster trade that saw Jets sniper Patrik Laine relocate to Columbus. Two other players faced their former teams Wednesday night as well in Jack Roslovic for the Blue Jackets, and Riley Nash for the Jets returning to where he played for three seasons.
Both Dubois and Laine struggled last year adjusting to their new teams, and both players have had a much better start to this season. Patrik Laine was not in the lineup for Columbus due to the tragic, unfortunate death of his father. Our condolences go out to him and his family during this difficult time.
Even without Laine the Blue Jackets generated better scoring chances than the Jets and ended up putting two goals past Connor Hellebuyck, and one into an empty net.
Here are three talking points from the Jets shutout loss:
3. The Offense Has Completely Dried Up
The Jets have only scored four goals in their last four games which, not surprisingly, have all been losses. The only Jets players to score in the last four games are Dubois, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Dominic Tonitato.
Despite outshooting the Blue Jackets 36 – 32 the Jets could not put any goals past Elvis Merzlikins. Full credit to the Blue Jackets goaltender who was excellent tonight. However, a team with the offensive firepower of the Jets should be scoring at a better pace than one goal per game.
Andrew Copp, Pierre Luc Dubois, and Kyle Connor who started the season at a torrid scoring pace have all cooled off significantly. Worse, the Jets are getting little to no offense from Blake Wheeler (no goals this season) and Mark Scheifele who has two goals and seven points in 13 games this season.
The Jets also started the season with defenseman Neal Pionk, Nate Schmidt, and Josh Morrissey all contributing points on the power play and at even strength. The offense from the Jets’ back end was nowhere to be found on Wednesday in Columbus.
It may be time for coach Paul Maurice to juggle the lines again to try to spark the offense.
2. Jets Special Teams Play Needs to Improve
The Jets went 0 – 4 on the power play against the Blue Jackets Wednesday night, which extends their record to 1 – 22 on the power play since November 6. Both power play units looked disorganized and passive generating few quality scoring chances.
The defense trio of Pionk, Schmidt, and Morrissey seems to have lost their magic on the power play for the Jets as they contributed little and struggled to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Power play specialists like Wheeler, Scheifele, and Kyle Connor the Jets should be converting on better than 18.9% of their chances for the season, and 5% of their chances in the last four games.
The Blue Jackets scored on one of their three power play opportunities Wednesday and controlled the puck very well in the Jets zone. Once again Connor Hellebuyck was forced to keep the team in the game with some excellent stops.
Paul Stastny is set to return to the Jets lineup in the next game which should help as he is one of the best Jets on the power play. In addition, removing Riley Nash should also work as addition by subtraction as he has been ineffective.
Penalty killing is a problem that Maurice may have to solve by using different combinations of players at forward and on defense. Perhaps it might be time to call up penalty killing specialist David Gustafsson from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL to generate some energy on a lethargic penalty killing unit.
1. The Jets Next Two Games Will Be Challenging
The Jets play back-to-back games in two different cities starting Friday night in Minnesota against Central Division rival Minnesota Wild.
The Wild lead the Central Division with 25 points and are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. These teams last met on October 19 at the Xcel Energy Center with the Wild pulling off a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory.
The Jets travel to Calgary the next night to face the red-hot Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome. This Flames team is playing vastly different than the mediocre squad the Jets faced last year in the all Canadian North Division. The Flames currently lead the Pacific Division with 29 points and are near the top of the NHL in goals scored.
Back-to-back games against first place teams will be a steep challenge for the struggling Jets. The Jets could easily return home on a six-game losing streak with Colorado, Dallas and Nashville are all closing in on the Jets in the Central Division playoff race.
Here’s hoping that the Jets rise to the level of their opponents the next two games and end this losing skid.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: How worried are you about the Jets’ four-game losing streak? Leave your comments below!
*All Stats Provided by the NHL*