DALLAS — The Winnipeg Jets were excited to finally be able to sleep in their own beds on Sunday, something they hadn’t done for 10 straight nights away from home.
But we suspect there might be some tossing and turning after a season-long road trip ended hours earlier in Texas with a third straight loss, one which bumps the Jets from their perch as the top team in the NHL.
A 3-1 setback on Sunday afternoon to the Dallas Stars followed a similar script to Friday’s 4-3 defeat in Las Vegas. The score was tied with the clock ticking down in the third period, only for the Jets to get burned big.
LM OTERO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dallas Stars centre Wyatt Johnston (right) scores against Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck Sunday.
Against the Golden Knights, it was normally reliable centre Vlad Namestnikov failing to cover his man, allowing for a wide-open tap-in winner with 4:05 left in regulation. Against the Stars, it was No. 1 defenceman Josh Morrissey letting Mason Marchment sneak in behind him, then spin and deliver a backhanded dagger with 7:37 left in regulation.
“A mental mistake,” is how a frustrated head coach Scott Arniel described it to the Free Press outside the team’s room at American Airlines Center. “We let a guy get in behind us, kinda like he did in Vegas. It’s a rush situation. It’s tough.”
The Jets simply weren’t making these kinds of mistakes earlier in the year, when everything that could go right seemingly was. Now, the opposite, including injuries piling up along with the losses.
“We’re happy with the compete and the battle and certainly, it was a 1-1 game going up to seven minutes left in the third. We have to find ways to make the difference there. We just didn’t,” said Arniel.
The Jets fall to 18-7-0, including 2-4-0 on this journey. That allows Minnesota (16-4-4) to pass them in both the Central Division and overall standings based on point percentage. Dallas improves to 15-8-0.
They were warned
Winnipeg was burned off the rush repeatedly in Vegas, with the Golden Knights scoring three of their four goals by catching the Jets flat-footed and/or in odd-man situations. Arniel and players spoke about it after the game and after Saturday’s practice in Dallas.
So why were the Jets so vulnerable once again?
“It’s what they like to do. We saw numerous clips before the game of what they like to do. We saw them try to do it every period against us,” said Arniel.
“We talked about it — it’s a play, a strategy that they did. At the end of the day, there’s just some mental things that happened for us. I’d probably throw a lot of that sort of fatigue that gets into it.”
“That’s a great one-on-one effort. There’s not much J-Mo can do,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry
LM OTERO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Stars winger Mason Marchment takes control of puck in front of Josh Morrissey on his way to scoring a goal in the third period in Dallas.
Personnel is also likely a factor, with shutdown defenceman Dylan Samberg missing a fourth straight game with a broken foot.
“Their winger would just disappear from the zone (and) stretch us out,” said defenceman Neal Pionk. “Also, in the third, they started rimming pucks a lot. They’d do a blind rim and you have to follow that guy out of the zone, (it) stretched us out and obviously they cashed in on it.”
Indeed, Stars defenceman Thomas Harley flipped a puck out of his own zone to a streaking Marchment who was already flying at high speed, and Morrissey was unable to contain him or get in a shooting lane to prevent the game-winner.
“That’s a great one-on-one effort. There’s not much J-Mo can do,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “He gets back and Marchment has got so much length, and you’ve got the back to it. And it’s just an incredible play.”
Captain comes through
The Jets actually got the start they were looking for, as Lowry tipped home a Haydn Fleury shot at 3:16 of the first period to give the Jets an early lead.
It’s already the sixth goal of the year for Lowry, whose career high is 15 set over 82 games in 2016-17. He had 12 last year in 81 contests.
Replays show that Lowry essentially had a hole the size of the puck itself to beat Dallas netminder Jake Oettinger, and he perfectly threaded the needle.
LM OTERO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Adam Lowry celebrates with teammates after scoring in the first period against the Stars in Dallas.
“I think anytime you kind of get the moving screen and the deflection, it’s just about changing the angle. And I’ll be honest, when I turned around and saw (the puck was) in, I was a little surprised, too,” said Lowry.
“So, great job by Fleury to get it through. They did a really good job of getting out in lanes and making it tough on them. So, for him to get that by the first layer, it was nice to see it go in.”
Pionk drew the other helper, giving him an even 200 for his NHL career.
Wyatt Johnston tied the game at 17:06 of the first, and then Roope Hintz sealed the victory with an empty-netter with eight seconds to play.
The PK does, too
Winnipeg’s penalty kill has gotten a bit leaky in recent games, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday. The Jets went 5-for-5 in that department, including an extended two-man advantage by the Stars.
“Obviously you don’t want to be killing too many five-on-threes, but nice to survive it. And Helly’s, he’s got to be your best penalty killer. He made some stellar saves. He really did a good job of swallowing up a lot of pucks too,” said Lowry.
“That’s kind of how you want it to look, and the structure and like we said, it’s going to be a work in progress throughout the year and I think (Sunday) was a step in the right direction for that.”
Unfortunately for the Jets, what once was a red-hot power play has now gone cold. Winnipeg went 0-for-2 against Dallas after going 0-for-3 against Vegas.
“Fly” is grounded
No doubt missing Nikolaj Ehlers hurts on both the power play and at five-on-five. The speedy winger missed his first game of the year after suffering a lower-body injury in the second period against Vegas.
“He’s still sore. He has to get home and see our doctors,” said Arniel.
Ehlers is third on the Jets in scoring with 25 points (9G, 16A) in 24 games. His spot in the lineup was taken by David Gustafsson, who played just his second game of the year after being a healthy scratch for 23 outings.
His absence is especially notable when the entire top line is slumping, too. Mark Scheifele had just two secondary assists to show for the entire trip — with both coming on empty-net goals. Kyle Connor has gone five straight without a goal. And linemate Gabe Vilardi has just one point (a goal) in the last five outings.
“It’s part of what happens with the season,” Arniel said of the inevitable ups and downs. “But like I said, we’ve got to get home and get in our own beds, kind of refresh and get ourselves and get our minds to where they need to be for another divisional opponent.”
Key play
The Marchment game-winner, which, no doubt, Morrissey will be seeing in his sleep.
Three stars:
1. Dallas LW Mason Marchment: Game-winning goal;
2. Winnipeg C Adam Lowry: Goal;
3. Dallas G Jake Oettinger: 26 saves.
LM OTERO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dallas Stars winger Mason Marchment scores a goal against goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and defenceman Josh Morrissey during the third period in Dallas.
Extra, extra
The Jets made one other lineup change as defenceman Colin Miller returned after being a healthy scratch in Vegas, taking the place of Dylan Coghlan who had made his season debut against the Golden Knights.
Defenceman Ville Heinola was the other scratch for a second straight game. Arniel said the Jets are trying to manage his minutes as he works his way back from ankle surgery. Heinola played four games over a six-day span between the Manitoba Moose (conditioning assignment) and the Jets before taking a seat.
Hellebuyck, who will likely be the starting goaltender on Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, stopped 28 of 30 shots he faced. Oettinger, who could be his backup, made 26 saves on 27 shots.
The Jets chartered home after the game and will take a day off on Monday to get caught up on laundry and family time. They’ll then play Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre against the St. Louis Blues before hitting the road for two more contests.
X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg
Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter
Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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