Simply whenever you assume you’ve seen all of it, the Winnipeg Jets discover a new approach to lose one other hockey sport.
The Jets let a two-goal lead slip away earlier than falling in additional time to the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday evening, a 4-3 loss that prolonged Winnipeg’s shedding streak to 10 video games.
Issues regarded a bit dicey proper off the bat as Jonathan Toews took a tripping penalty simply 16 seconds into the sport however Winnipeg acquired the kill, and some minutes later, Toews factored in on the sport’s first objective.
Gabriel Vilardi acquired the puck again to the purpose the place Josh Morrissey was ready for it. He fed Toews within the slot, who seen that Cole Perfetti was uncovered and slicing to the entrance of the web. Toews handed it to Perfetti, who outwaited Carter Hart earlier than sliding the puck into the again of the web on the 5:16 mark.
It was solely Perfetti’s third objective of the season and first since Nov. 29.
There was a regarding second with just below seven minutes left within the interval when Haydn Fleury went laborious into the boards. He was on his again foot close to the faceoff dot in his personal finish and handed the puck up the ice as Keegan Kolesar shoved him at full pace. The impression knocked Fleury off his toes and he landed on his again earlier than sliding laborious into the boards, his head and higher again taking all of the impression with the boards.
The whistle blew instantly as medical personnel swarmed Fleury, being cautious as they strapped him to a backboard and put him on a stretcher. After a number of minutes, he was wheeled throughout the ice as followers gave him an ovation and gamers tapped their sticks.
He was then taken to the ambulance within the bowels of Canada Life Centre and transported to hospital, with the staff confirming shortly thereafter that Fleury was “absolutely alert and transferring his extremities upon departure.”
This was Fleury’s first motion since Dec. 19 and solely his second sport since Remembrance Day as he had been coping with a concussion.
Get day by day Nationwide information
Get the day’s prime information, political, financial, and present affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox as soon as a day.
In the course of the pause in motion, Adam Lowry talked to Kolesar about dropping the gloves and off the following faceoff, the 2 squared off with the Jets’ captain incomes the takedown, a lot to the house crowd’s delight.
The Jets carried the 1-0 lead into the second interval, although they have been outshot 6-5 within the opening 20 minutes.
The second acquired off to a sluggish begin, with neither aspect registering a shot on objective earlier than Mark Stone took a slashing penalty 5:31 into the interval.
Winnipeg wasn’t in a position to generate a lot with the person benefit, although a scramble in entrance of Hart with seconds remaining led to the puck trickling simply large of the web.
The Jets doubled their lead on the 12:04 mark of the body due to maybe essentially the most unlikely scoring possibility within the lineup (outdoors of Connor Hellebuyck).
After a battle for the puck within the Vegas finish, it trickled again to the purpose the place Luke Schenn, enjoying in his 1,one hundredth sport, collected it. He paused for a second earlier than snapping a wrist shot on internet that someway eluded visitors and Hart, beating the keeper prime nook for his first in 43 video games as a Jet.
It was simply his forty fifth profession objective in 1,100 video games and his first since Oct. 19, 2024 as a member of the Predators.
Vegas acquired their second energy play look of the night with 1:03 to go within the interval when Dylan Samberg was referred to as for high-sticking and it didn’t take lengthy for the Golden Knights to money in.
A shot on objective careened off of the skates of Schenn and slid proper to Stone along side the web. The Winnipegger slid it dwelling for his thirteenth of the season simply 12 seconds after the ability play started, making this the fifth straight sport by which Stone has scored.
Vegas outshot the Jets 8-4 within the second for a two-period benefit of 14-9, however Winnipeg nonetheless held a 2-1 lead the place it mattered after 40 minutes.
However simply over eight minutes into the third, the Golden Knights drew degree.
Dylan DeMelo had an opportunity to play the puck simply inside his personal blueline however acquired spun round earlier than Kolesar acquired to the puck and took it into the nook. Tomas Hertl picked it up there and located Noah Hanifin by the faceoff dot for a one-timer that hit Hellebuyck within the masks.
The rebound got here again to Hanifin and he despatched a go throughout to Brett Howden in entrance that the Oakbank native deposited into the web to tie the sport on the 8:13 mark.
Winnipeg lastly registered their first shot on objective within the interval with 9:59 to go, and with simply over 5 minutes remaining, they regained the lead due to their prime sniper.
After Golden Knights made a little bit of a multitude of a line change, Kyle Connor carried the puck into the Vegas finish earlier than lacking the web badly from the slot. However Vilardi tracked down the unfastened puck alongside the boards and as Connor circled again to the slot, Vilardi gave him the puck and Connor made no mistake, whipping a shot previous Hart for his twentieth of the season.
However the lead didn’t final lengthy.
Solely 59 seconds after Connor’s objective, Vegas struck again as Reilly Smith knocked dwelling a rebound off a Brandon Saad shot.
Neither staff discovered the again of the web once more earlier than the tip of the third, which figured to favour the Jets as Vegas entered the evening with a 4-12 document in video games determined in additional time or a shootout this season.
After a gradual begin to OT, the Jets got here shut a pair instances to ending the sport with Dylan Samberg having one of the best probability, whiffing a shot large from in shut after Toews was denied from the slot.
With 50.4 seconds left, Samberg was despatched to the field for tripping and Winnipeg virtually acquired via it however with 12.8 seconds on the clock, Mitch Marner rocketed a one-timer from the purpose that Hertl tipped previous Hellebuyck to finish the sport, prompting the reigning Hart Trophy winner to smash his stick in half on the goalpost.
The loss matches the longest shedding skid franchise historical past, for those who embrace the Atlanta days, because the Thrashers had a ten-game skid throughout their inaugural season.
The unique Jets additionally had a pair of ten sport shedding streaks in 1980 and 1994.
Winnipeg will get one other probability to snap the skid after they host Edmonton Thursday evening.
