Jets fall again to the Lowly Ducks
The Winnipeg Jets never have an easy time with the Anaheim Ducks.
Thursday night at Canada Life Centre, the Ducks got a goal from Troy Terry, his second of the night, as Anaheim beat Winnipeg for the second straight time. Back on Dec. 18, in Anaheim the Jets blew a 2-1 lead in the dying minutes to fall 3-2. Thursday night at home, the Jets led 3-2 with two minutes to play and fell in overtime.
At least they notched a point. Winnipeg is now 27-11-2 on the season and have lost their last two games.
As it often is, overtime was wild. The Jets were putting on the pressure when Anaheim goaltender John Gibson dislodged his own goal to stop play. The Anaheim net was dislodged again late in the overtime period, but this time the whistle didn’t blow, and Terry took the puck the other way and beat Hellebuyck for the game winner.
“We came out really well in the first, obviously a great start. Just they're a hardworking team, young group, and there were some, it's the same stuff that happens any game, where you lose a little bit of momentum," Josh Morrissey said post-game.
"I thought we actually did a good job of kind of losing momentum, getting it back and playing a pretty solid third period until giving up that tying goal. Those are some things we can clean up."
It didn’t take the Jets long to get going. Just 33 seconds after the opening faceoff, Gabriel Vilardi dug the puck out from the Anaheim corner, got it to Kyle Connor, who slipped it back to Mark Scheifele alone in front and suddenly it was 1-0 Winnipeg.
The Jets made it 2-0 at 17:17 when Josh Morrissey sent Alex Iafallo down the left wing and into the Ducks zone. Iafallo sent a beautiful pass across the crease to captain Adam Lowry who ripped it upstairs on Anaheim goaltender John Gibson. It was Lowry’s 10th of the season.
However, Anaheim always plays the Jets tough, and the Ducks were no different on this night. At 18:58, Leo Carlsson fired a shot off the post, off Hellebuyck and into the net to make it 2-1. Anaheim outshot Winnipeg 10-7 and had the better of the play for the final seven minutes of the frame.
In the second period, the Ducks tied it up at 2-2 at 6:52 when Troy Terry’s seemingly harmless shot from the circle went between Hellebuyck’s legs.
The period finished with the two teams even at a pair of goals each although Winnipeg dominated the middle frame, outshooting Anaheim 12-4 and controlling the play. Still, one flukey goal can have a huge impact and Terry’s fluke certainly did.
“I thought our second period was probably our worst period," head coach Scott Arniel said bluntly.
"I thought in the first, we were great and we had all kinds of opportunities, got the lead and then, in the second period, through the neutral zone, we turned some pucks over and kind of let them get into some rush situations and in the third, we went out and dominated. We got the lead again late and gave up that (tying goal). A little bit of the mental side of things. With four (games) in six (days), I’m not using that as an excuse but when you start seeing those kinds of mistakes, it has to drop into there somehow.”
In the final 20 minutes, the Jets played well, but just couldn’t get a break around the net. Then, at the 17:16 mark, Alex Iafallo – the hardest working player all night – found a loose puck behind the net and wrapped it around Gibson to give the Jets a 3-2 lead. Nino Niederreiter and Josh Morrissey drew the assists.
But the Ducks just don’t quit when they play Winnipeg and at 18:10, Radko Gudas drilled a blistering shot from the point that Hellebuyck didn’t see until it was coming back past him off the back of the net. It was Gudas’s first goal of the year, and it sent this one to overtime.
The Jets, who are still in first place overall in the NHL, will play again at home on Saturday night at 6 p.m. CST when the Detroit Red Wings come to town for the first and only time this season.
Photos from Thursday's game vs. Anaheim are courtesy of Scott Stroh:
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