It was Gasparilla night at the Benchmark International Arena but despite all the pirate costumes in attendance the Winnipeg Jets couldn't steal two points. Unfortunately for the Jets, this one went about as expected. The Lightning are one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League with 8 wins in their last 10 games. While the teams traded punches in the first period, and the Jets kept it close through the second, a lot of this game was spent in the Winnipeg defensive zone. The silver lining is some short term pain will result in long term gain if the Jets start the sell off and aim for a top draft pick this June. Let's get on with three takes from the 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay:
KFC Is Back As Kyle Connor Ends Goal Drought
Coming into the contest in west Florida, Kyle "KFC" Connor was on a 5 game scoreless streak. Winnipeg's first line knew they were in for a tough matchup against Tampa's third, but they found some twine midway through the second period. After some smooth passing from Connor, Mark Scheifele, and Gabe Vilardi, the puck made its way to Dylan Samberg at the point. Samberg fired and Connor changed the direction enough to slot the puck home behind Lightning netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy. It was a quality display from a group who has been carrying much of the offence for Winnipeg but one of their few high danger chances on the night.
Morgan Barron Hits 300 NHL Games Played
It was a milestone night for the Nova Scotia native as Barron played in his 300th game in the NHL. Orignially drafted by the New York Rangers in 2017, the 27 year old has been a staple in the Jets lineup over the last few seasons. Barron's fourth line has been a bright spot over the last few games with Cole Koepke scoring in 2 of the last 3. Last night, the Barron, Koepke, and Tanner Pearson combination generated 4 high danger chances and surrendered none. A big congratulations to Morgan on the achievement.
Third Pair Defensive Struggles Continue
It was a tough night for Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn. The pair have received plenty of criticism this year and both expected to be on the trade block over the coming weeks. That said, their forwards didn't provide enough coverage in front of them either last night. On Darren Raddysh's slapper in the second, Scheifele and Schenn looked to trade off in front of the net and while Connor Hellebuyck wasn't fully screened, the traffic in front prevented him from squaring up to the shot. Then later in the second, shortly after Kyle Connor cut the deficit from 2 to 1, Yanni Gourde had too much time in the slot to make an impressive tip. Schenn ended -2 and Stanley -3 after the empty net goal.
Next up for the Jets is a trip to Sunrise and a rematch with the Florida Panthers on Saturday afternoon.