1 week Ago By Scott Billeck
Thursday night felt like an awkward high-five for the Winnipeg Jets. Although they intended to make good contact, they just couldn’t hit the mark. The Jets lost just their second game of the season (15-2-0) and watched their seven-game winning streak come to an end after dropping a 4-1 decision to the Lightning at Amalie Arena.
Winnipeg, which had won all seven of its road games prior to Thursday, struggled early and often, and any chance at another comeback to keep its historic start rolling always looked a half-step behind. A couple of examples included Mark Scheifele missing Kyle Connor open in front in the second period, sailing a grenade through his legs instead of watching one explode into the back of the net off of Connor’s stick. Another came with Josh Morrissey leading a rush in the third.
Kyle Connor was alongside him, but both seemed unsure who should continue deeper into the zone once Morrissey gained it. The puck was soon heading the other way. You could write a short novel filled with more illustrations, but you get the point: It was an off night for the local hockey club.
Jake Guentzel opened the scoring 7:24 into the first period, and Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli scored 57 seconds apart early in the second to deal the damage needed to see off the Jets, avenging their 7-4 loss to Winnipeg last week. Adam Lowry scored Winnipeg’s only goal in the game, a tipped shot later in the second. Eric Comrie, making his fourth start of the season, made 25 saves in a losing effort.
His stops on Cirelli on the doorstep and a sprawling pad save on Nikita Kucherov on the power play kept the Jets in the game in the third. That’s where Winnipeg’s best push came, as Tampa was content with the lead they’d built. But even their red-hot power play, which had two looks in the final frame, couldn’t save them, going 0-for-4 on the night.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was solid, stopping 24 shots as the Lightning improved to 8-6-1. Guetnzel popped his second into the empty cage with 20 seconds left. The Jets cap off their three-game eastern swing on Saturday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
[email protected] X: @scottbilleck.
