Jets fall to Penguins 3-1 for second consecutive regulation loss – Winnipeg | The Canadian News

After failing to find a win in back-to-back road games, the Winnipeg Jets hoped a dose of comfort food would carry them back into the win column.

Instead, the offense stammered again in a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

Despite not playing since Friday, the Jets looked tired and out of sync, as it was a fairly mediocre effort.

“It’s hard to just say we didn’t work hard enough or we weren’t intense enough,” Jets forward Andrew Copp said. “But kinda, that’s what it came down to what it felt like. They won all the disc battles. We were a bit adrift. And then they are skilled enough to make plays behind you and capitalize.

“There just isn’t enough push in our game.”

The Jets, once a potent offense, have suddenly dried up, as Winnipeg has scored just four goals in the last three games. And Kyle Connor’s stick has gone cold. After scoring goals in four straight games, Connor has now gone three straight games without a goal.

“I didn’t like our game tonight,” Connor said. “I think we could have done much better. We were just a little sloppy, failed passes, circling, not getting under the discs. I mean, our last three-four games, I don’t think we really generated that much. “

The Jets led the play for much of the first period as they outshot the Pens 11-5 with Dominic Toninato scoring the only goal of the period. But the Penguins tied the game in the middle stanza and then scored again early in the third period.

“We were slow in the third,” said head coach Paul Maurice. “We got the leadership and we surpassed it. And we didn’t help each other with what we did with the album, and then we didn’t have much of it. “

The Jets were outscored 17-6 in the final draw as they suffered only their second home loss of the season in regulation.

“I don’t think we jumped much,” Maurice said. “The shots are there. The time zone is there. We don’t have a heavy enough network front, but we’re talking about a period for me before we blow this thing up. We had a difficult third period here. Other than that, we were pretty good. “

The Jets are now 7-2-1 in 10 attempts at the Canada Life Center this season.

It was the Penguins’ first visit to Winnipeg in more than two full years, and with the victory, Pittsburgh won 14 of its last 17 meetings against the Jets since 2013.

READ MORE: Jets’ penalty falters again in 3-2 loss in Vancouver

The Jets ‘fourth row came on the board first after an extended stint in the Penguins’ zone. A shot was blocked but he ended up sitting in the slot for Toninato, who passed Tristan Jarry partially blocked. It was Jarry’s first goal in more than seven periods and 161 minutes.

Winnipeg controlled most of the play in the opening frame, and after failing to get a single power play in their loss in Vancouver on Friday, Adam Lowry drew an interference call with 22 seconds left in the first.

But the Jets couldn’t get past Pittsburgh’s league-best penalty, and a few minutes later was the Penguins’ opportunity with the man advantage when Pierre-Luc Dubois was called up to hit high.

This created a ‘something’s got to give’ scenario: the league’s second-worst penalty (Winnipeg) against the NHL’s most powerless power play (Pittsburgh). This was the Jets’ path in part thanks to a great pad-stack save from Connor Hellebuyck.

The Jets were able to void another penalty later in the period, but just six seconds after Copp left the penalty area, Jason Zucker found himself alone near Hellebuyck and buried a top shelf to tie the game. At this point in the game, the Jets had a 20-10 advantage in shots on goal, but from there it would lean heavily in favor of Pittsburgh.

Winnipeg would get another power play opportunity when Jake Guentzel dropped Hellebuyck on a drive net, sparking a mini-skirmish, but Guentzel got the only minor through goalie interference. Once again, the Pens’ stingy penalty did its job as the second period ended with the score tied 1-1.

The Pens would take the lead 3:33 in the third when a point shot caught Hellebuyck overhead, he couldn’t control the rebound and Danton Heinen cut the puck over Hellebuyck and into the net.

Kyle Connor had a glorious opportunity to tie the game a few minutes later, going only on a breakaway over Jarry, but Connor lost control of the puck just before it hit the net and was unable to make a great goal attempt.

One last effort to tie the game for Winnipeg did not go well, as Guentzel scored with an empty net moments after Hellebuyck was recalled by an additional attacker. That capped off a difficult third period for Winnipeg.

The Jets goalkeeper did his best to keep his team in the game, finishing with 33 saves and many of them on high-quality opportunities from the Penguins.

Jarry made 30 saves in the victory.

READ MORE: Turris scores winner of shootout as Oilers top Jets 2-1 in thrilling goalkeeping duel

Winnipeg is now heading for a three-game road trip starting Wednesday in Columbus.