Jets Drop Critical Game vs. Flyers, Fall Far Behind as Playoff Chances Diminish

They might not be mathematically eliminated, but unfortunately for the Winnipeg Jets, the team will come up short in their bid for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring.

Despite a decent push in the final quarter of the season, it was too little, too late in Manitoba's capital.  

As the old saying goes, the Jets waited far too long to heat up, and in doing so, their postseason chances have slimmed down to next to nothing.

In need of another win - and a miracle - to continue their push for the playoffs, the Jets came up short, well short, in their efforts for a postseason push on Saturday in a test against an Eastern Conference playoff hopeful in Philadelphia.

The penultimate contest from Canada Life Centre this season wasn't even close from the opening puck drop. The Flyers got off to a hot start and truly didn't cool down until they chased Connor Hellebuyck from the game and put up seven goals against a desperate Winnipeg team in need of both points.

“We weren’t ready to go," head coach Scott Arniel said post-game.

"That whole first period we weren’t to go. Philly outplayed us. I’ll take responsibility for that. We were not ready to go throughout our lineup. Player 1 to 20 we were not ready to go. They got the better of us. Second period, 3-1 game, we got better, a little bit more, had some opportunities, and then again gave up a couple quick goals and the game was over after 5-1.”

A wild opening frame saw four goals - and all four came before the game was even nine minutes old. 

It was Philadelphia that struck first, with recent entry-level contract signee Porter Martone finishing off a pretty passing play by Travis Konecny just 1:17 into the game. 

But Haydn Fleury responded for Winnipeg five minutes later. He hammered home a Cole Koepke rebound on a play that saw Jonathan Toews pick up the secondary helper - his fourth points in the past three games. 

But then, just a minute-and-a-half later, Matvei Michkov redirected a long-range wrist shot off Jacob Bryson and past Hellebuyck, restoring the Flyers' one-goal lead.

Just 25 seconds later, the visitors found another, with Sean Couturier putting home his 11th of the season, ripping it past the Jets' bewildered last line of defence for a 3-1 lead less than half a period into the game. 

Both clubs settled down as the opening frame wore on, with power play chances granted to both team. 

Philadelphia narrowly outshot the Jets 13-10 through 20 minutes, while taking a commanding 3-1 lead into the intermission.

The middle stanza saw the Flyers add to their lead, with local product Travis Sanheim earning his first career professional goal in his home province. A rousing cheer from his friends and family in attendance rang out as the puck found its way past Hellebuyck and into the Jets' net. 

Noah Cates delivered the knockout punch, scoring a shorthanded goal with time ticking down on a Jets penalty late in the second period, handing Winnipeg a 5-1 deficit through 40 minutes of play. 

Couturier got his second of the game 6:23 into the third period, making it 6-1 for the visitors, as he beat Eric Comrie on the Flyers' first shot of the period. 

Then, with just six minutes remaining, the visitors got another courtesy of Nick Seeler on just Philly's second shot of the frame. 

Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 20 shots before being yanked from the game, while Dan Vladar turned aside 28 pucks on the 29 Jets shots that found their way to the net.

Eric Comrie ended the night with one save on three shots in 20 minutes of work. 

A loss wouldn't have hit quite as hard should there Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators have lost their respective games on Saturday, but, of course, that did not happen, extending the distance between the Jets and a possible postseason berth.

"Obviously, we've lost some games and maybe we've had spurts of a period or stretches of 10 minutes here or there, in different games and we've lost games," Arniel reflected.

"But tonight, that was a 60 minute one. Especially the start, that was not us. That's not something we've done. We've taken such pride in really trying to get ourselves into this playoff spot and we've been pushing and I've been pushing the guys and they've been pushing each other. And like I said, that one, that came out of left field. I was not expecting that one and I don't imagine the players were either."

Next up for Winnipeg is the team's final road trip of a season - a two-game trek through Vegas and Utah in a back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday - before the Jets return home Thursday night for the season finale against the San Jose Sharks at 7:00 PM central.