The Winnipeg Jets are leaving sunny Florida with some dark clouds hanging over them after yet another loss Friday night.
For the second time this week, the Jets were beaten by the Florida Panthers, this one a 5-2 final, making it eight straight losses and dropping them to 4-7-3 overall.
Anton Lundell scored a hat-trick for Florida, while Seth Jones recorded a goal and two assists.
While the Jets were much more competitive than their last two games, it was the same old result as the Jets never had the lead to continue their losing streak.
“Obviously we don’t like the ending or the score, but we talked about it last night after the game and we talked again today and we came out and we battled,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “That one was a lot closer to how we need to play for 60 minutes. There was a lot of 50-50 puck battles that we came out on the right side and we hadn’t done the last time we played Florida or even the first two periods against Tampa, but now we got to get over the hump, find a way.”
Goaltender Nico Daws made his first start for the Jets since being acquired from New Jersey in a trade last week and made 33 saves.
Kyle Connor and Morgan Barron scored the goals for Winnipeg in the loss as Barron notched his first of the season to make it a one-goal game in the third period.
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“It was great to kinda get us back in the game and bring it back to within one,” Barron said. “But it kinda dissipates pretty quickly. Not much feels too good right now. We’re trying to get out of this slump and obviously these points are really important.
“This isn’t the direction we want our season to go. I don’t think it’s the direction we think our season should go, so, just kinda got to strap up and figure it out.”
The Jets finally ended a 0-for-17 drought on the power play. But they’ve have been outscored in the first period 14-7 in their first 14 games and have given up the first goal in their last six straight contests.
“Get ourselves back to the drawing board here,” said Arniel. “And look at some things. It doesn’t get any easier. We go right into Carolina for an afternoon game. Like I said earlier, that compete, how we were battling. That has to be a constant.”
Florida struck first on the powerplay with just under two minutes left in the opening period as Sam Reinhart took a pass down low and casually walked in front, beating Daws with a shot and opening the scoring.
Under three minutes into the second, the Panthers found the back of the net again on a Lundell shot for a two-goal lead.
Later in the period, the Jets received a gift after a delay of game penalty issued to the Panthers was challenged by Florida, but was unsuccessful, and the failed challenge gave Florida another penalty and a two-minute two-man advantage for the Jets.
It took them nearly the full two minutes to score, but Connor was able to make a nifty deke and beat Panthers goaltender Akira Schmid to cut the lead in half. It was Connor’s team-leading 11th of the season.
But another Panthers powerplay later in the period led to another Panthers goal, this time off the stick of Jones who creeped in from the point and one-timed a pass in the slot.
It was Jones’ third point of the night, giving him six points against the Jets in the two games they’ve played this week.
Winnipeg got back to within one almost halfway through the third when Barron won a puck battle along the boards and headed towards the net where he beat Schmid with a shot.
But the Panthers added the insurance marker after the Jets left Lundell uncovered in front of the net and he tapped in a rebound. He would complete his hat-trick with an empty-netter late in the game.
The Jets went with 11 forwards and seven defencemen on the night, with Tyrel Bauer coming into the lineup in place of Brad Lambert.
And just when you think the Jets schedule couldn’t get any tougher, they’ll take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday with puck drop just after 1 p.m.
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