The Winnipeg Jets have hit a snag.
Winnipeg returned home from a successful three-game road trip on Tuesday evening. Unfortunately for the 11,439 gathered at Canada Life Centre, the team seemed to have left its strong play behind on the road.
Falling 2-0 to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, the now 12-7-2 Jets lost valuable ground in the battle for position within a Central Division playoff race.
“We’ve got to stick to the process," forward Mark Scheifele said postgame.
"Not everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows. There are going to be tough stretches, stretches where you think you should have had a better result and you’ve got to keep trucking.”
Joe Pavelski scored the winner with 7:06 remaining in the second period, while Jake Oettinger picked up the shutout, turning aside all 27 of Winnipeg's shots, helping the visitors to a seemingly easy victory, and sending the Jets into a short two-game slide.
After a first period to which Winnipeg seemingly watched on as Dallas took ahold of the reins, the Jets woke up in the middle frame. Falling behind 8-5 on the shot chart through 20 minutes, Winnipeg outshot the visitors 11-6 in the second, but gave up the only goal of the frame.
Moments after concluding an unsuccessful two-man advantage, the Jets allowed a broken Stars offensive rush to materialize into the lone goal of the period. After Jason Robertson’s shot was blocked, Roope Hintz got the puck on net. Hellebuyck’s rebound landed on the stick of Joe Pavelski, who made no mistake putting it past the out-of-place netminder.
Head coach Rick Bowness – who was making his return to the home bench for the first time since October 17 – quickly challenged for goaltender interference, but it was determined the poke from Pavelski to Hellebuyck’s mask did not warrant the goal to be overturned.
So, Winnipeg ended up shorthanded instead, but managed to kill the off the ensuing minor.
Taking over the shot lead 16-14, the Jets put together a strong effort in the third, resulting in their second five-on-three of the game. But much like their second period instance, the team just couldn’t generate any traffic, allowing Oettinger to see everything directed his way.
"We’ve got to make them pay when we have two opportunities five-on-three," forward Nino Niederreiter said. "We have to bear down there and get the momentum at least on our side.”
Scheifele echoed his remarks:
“We hit the seam a couple of times, forced one that didn’t pan out," he said. "KC had two good chances, JMo had one good chance. We probably need some more one-timers out there. That’s something we’ve got to figure out. We’ve got to score there.”
The Stars sealed it with 3:15 remaining, as Tyler Sequin buried his seventh of the season on a two-on-one up-ice with Mason Marchment, putting the finishing touches on a 2-0 Dallas victory.
Hellebuyck made 19 saves on the 21 Dallas shots fired his way, while Oettinger turned aside all 27 of the pucks he faced.
Next up for Winnipeg is the second test of the four-game homestand on Thursday, as Connor McDavid makes his way to Manitoba for the first time this season. Following that, another Connor makes his way to Canada Life Centre, as Bedard and the Blackhawks face off against the Jets on Saturday afternoon.
