The Winnipeg Jets fell to 20-9-0 on the season with a loss to Columbus.
The Winnipeg Jets returned home to Canada Life Centre on Sunday evening following a stretch of eight of nine games on the road.
It was a 5:00 PM start against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the Jets didn't seem to wake up until about 6:30.
And in the end, it was the fans who left the game early.
Winnipeg was playing its 10th game in a span of just 17 days, after all, and its third contest in four nights. But as professional athletes, there are no excuses.
"This was obviously a long road trip that everybody goes through at some point," Kyle Connor said post-game. "Everybody in there felt great, theres no excuses. I mean, we had that game tied game at home going to third, you know, we want that one."
Ultimately, the Jets fell flat in the first period, played a decent second, and gave up too many goals to what they produced in the third, falling 4-1 to Kent Johnson and the Blue Jackets.
“It felt like we gave them those two tonight," Dylan DeMelo added. "Sure, they went and got it, but we, equally, gave it to them. We weren’t in our structure and we didn’t do what we needed to do in certain roles. That is really what it came down to.”
Managing to escape the opening frame with a scoreless draw, Winnipeg fell behind 12-6 on the shot chart, despite owning two power plays through 20 minutes of action.
The Jets failed to capitalize again on another early period power play, simply falling short of the mark offensively. With three man advantages and nothing at all to prove for it,
It took until the fourth power play of the game for Winnipeg to strike.
It was Kyle Connor who wired home a heavy wrist shot for his 15th of the season, beating Elvis Merzlikins clean, short side. Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele picked up the assists on the power play marker at 11:51 of the middle stanza.
But just two minutes later, Brad Lambert took a high-sticking penalty, giving the visitors a shot at a power play goal of their own. The Blue Jackets wasted little time finding the twine, with Dmitri Voronkov cashing in on his seventh of the year from the doorstep at 13:53.
Eric Comrie pulled out his best stop of the game midway through the third, flashing the leather on a Sean Monahan one-timer from the slot.
But just a moment later, the Jackets got one back, with Kent Johnson banking home a rebound from the top of the crease.
With 12:45 to go, Winnipeg trailed their visitors 2-1 and fell behind 24-18 on the shot chart.
Then, with 10:18 remaining, Johnson found his second of the period on a two-on-one with James van Riemsdyk, putting the visitors up by two and adding some much needed insurance.
Head coach Scott Arniel opted to pull Comrie with 3:40 left in the game, which resulted in about eight opportunities for a Columbus empty-netter. Finally, with 1:22 left in the game, it was Sean Kuraly who made it 4-1.
For the second-straight home game, fans flocked for the exits early.
“Just disappointed we couldn’t find the win," DeMelo said. "It’s pretty plain and simple. Comms played great. He wasn’t the reason we lost. We weren’t good on any of the goals we gave up.”
Comrie finished the game with 24 stops on the 27 shots he faced, while Merzlikins turned aside 23 of the 24 pucks fired his way.
Next up for the Jets is the continuation of the four-game homestand. Boston rolls into town on Tuesday, with Vegas arriving on Thursday and Montreal facing off against the Jets in the Saturday night affair.
