Jets suffer shutout loss and Pionk injury as Wild snap long losing streak. Key defensive player exits early, darkening early playoff hopes.
It just wasn't meant to be.
The Winnipeg Jets have dropped to 12-9-0 on the season and fallen out of the playoffs for the first time in a long time, thanks to a lopsided affair with the visiting Minnesota Wild.
After seeing their home winning streak come to an end on Friday against Nikolaj Ehlers and the Hurricanes, the Jets gave up three goals to Minnesota and were stymied on the offence, unable to manage a single goal of their own.
Making matters worse, defenceman Neal Pionk left the game Sunday early in the first period with what appeared to be a mid-to-low body injury.
Head coach Scott Arniel said Pionk would be considered day-to-day until the team has a better chance of re-evaluating his setback.
Josh Morrissey saw his seven-game point-scoring streak come to an end, while the Jets were shut out for the third time this season.
Winnipeg was also without its Hart and Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck once again, following a procedure on his knee that will sideline him a month-and-a-half.
"It's not an easy job for him to come in once in a while and get that chance," Jonathan Toews said of Comrie. "When you're not playing a lot, it's really tough to find your own rhythm and your own momentum as a player, and I can't even imagine it as a goaltender.
"He's been incredible when he's come in for us. I think it's one of those things where we haven't played great in front of him the times he has come in so I think that's something that we can definitely rally around and be vocal about is going out and playing for Coms. He's always ready at the drop of a hat. He'd do anything for this team so that's something we've got to focus on."
But this time, Comrie didn't find the win.
Having lost the last nine-straight games against Winnipeg, Minnesota picked up its first win against the Jets since March of 2023.
But, the Wild entered the game on quite a streak of their own. They had points in seven-straight games and nine of 10 coming in.
“The only pressure we have is what we put on ourselves," defenceman Dylan DeMelo said of the loss.
"At the end of the day, if we win the next game or lose it, it doesn’t matter in regards to the season. It isn’t going to be done. We still have a long way to go. It’s more of the process, and I think that’s our concern as a team. I don’t think we are playing the way we want to play."
The first period provided little in terms of offence for either club. The Jets were the better team in the frame, but came out deadlocked at zeros. Winnipeg held a narrow 9-7 shot lead, but was unable to make any of its chances count on a red hot Jesper Wallstedt goaltending performance.
The visitors turned things up in the middle stanza, as the Wild put up two goals on 13 shots on net. Winnipeg, also shooting the puck 13 times, remained off the board thanks to continued strong play between the pipes.
Minnesota got its first goal off a sloppy play behind the Jets' net by Logan Stanley. Losing his man in coverage, Yakov Trenin dished the puck to Danila Yurov, who pumped it past Eric Comrie, giving the Wild a 1-0 lead with 11:37 to play in the frame.
Then, for the second-straight game, the Jets gave up a shorthanded goal against.
With Adam Lowry drawing a holding call on Kirill Kaprizov, the Jets failed to materialize a goal on the power play. Minnesota took the puck back down the ice and potted the 2-0 marker on a three-on-one rush play. Marcus Johansen dished the puck to Brock Faber, who wired a wrist shot past Comrie, high glove.
Lowry squared off in a spirited tilt with Marcus Foligno, resulting in one of the only cheers the crowd at Canada Life Centre was able to exude.
Kirill Kaprizov made it 3-0 in the third period on his 13th of the season, wiping away any chance of a late-game comeback for the home team.
Comrie made 26 stops on the 29 pucks he faced, while Wallstedt turned aside all 32 shots he faced on the night.
"We aren’t even close to where we need to be to be a successful team when it really matters down the road," DeMelo added. "We’ve shown it in flashes but it hasn’t been consistent. We need to find that consistency, but we are only a quarter of the way into the season here. It’s that point where we need to start stringing games together and we’ll worry about the result. Usually when we’re playing well, we feel confident when we play our game and do the right thing, the result will take care of itself. We are exactly what our record says we are. We are inconsistent."
Sunday marked the final test of the three-game homestand, before the team takes off on the road for another lengthy stretch. Winnipeg will face Washington on Wednesday and Carolina on Friday as they begin the five-game trip.