Sometimes you get the bounces, while other times, the bounces get you.
Friday night's battle between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre was not an enjoyable affair for the home team.
“I can’t say we played bad," goaltender David Rittich said post-game. "We had enough chances to score. I think we played a pretty good game, but today just didn’t work our way.”
Despite outshooting the visitors 38-26, Winnipeg had an exceptionally difficult time finishing, and ultimately lost the game 4-1.
Speaking of Finnish, a familiar face made his way back to Winnipeg for what was another eventful showdown at the big rink downtown. Although sporting a new look, it was the same old Patrik Laine.
Not quite like Tuesday's blood-filled spectacle that saw fan fights and broken Zambonis, Friday's game did mark Laine's and Jack Roslovic's second visit to Winnipeg since the January 23, 2021 deal for Pierre-Luc Dubois.
“Yeah, well, points are points, it doesn't matter where they come, but it's a little bit special here," Laine said. "It's nice to hear the fans booing a little bit when I scored, but that's just the way it goes. It was a special, special night to get the win here.”
And it sure didn't take long for the two to find the scoresheet.
After being held off the stats line in his first game back in the 'Peg, Laine scored the game-opener on Friday, burying his third of the season 6:48 into the game. Taking a pass from offseason acquisition Johnny Gaudreau, Laine ripped a wrister past David Rittich top-corner, short-side.
https://twitter.com/CBrooksie84/status/1598851731370422272
"It didn't matter if I scored zero tonight and played a bad game, as long as we win," Laine added. "That's the most important thing and that's why we're here, so we are really happy that we got it done. Now we got to build from here and keep it going.”
Roslovic - the lone former Jet that actually registered a point in the pair's March 25, 2022 return to Winnipeg - was heavily boo'd each time he touched the puck on Friday. But he clearly didn't let things get to his head, as he added another helper this time around. He did so shortly after Laine's marker, collecting the assist on a weird Erik Gudbranson goal. The defenceman's shot was saved by Rittich's pad, but bounced directly off the shinpad of Pierre-Luc Dubois and into the open net.
Rittich - who was making his first start since the monumental collapse-turned-overtime win - would need some offensive support as the game wore on, in order to help maintain his 3-1-0 record coming in. But like he did on countless occasions from 2016-2020, Laine bulged the twine yet again.
The first period ended with the teams knotted up at 11 shots, while the second period proved little different.
Despite keeping things close, Winnipeg gave up another two tallies in the frame. The first, to Laine.
Scoring just 3:19 into the middle stanza, the Finn took a great setup pass from Boone Jenner, before absolutely ripping it past a sprawling Rittich. Gaudreau picked up the second helper on Laine's fourth of the year. Coming off a hyper-extended elbow, Laine wasted little time showing his worth.
Gaudreau didn't stop there either, picking up another assist on the Blue Jackets' fourth of the game - a tap in by Gus Nyqvist for his fourth of the season.
Not quite like Tuesday's blood-filled spectacle that saw fan fights and broken Zambonis, Friday's game did mark Laine's and Jack Roslovic's second visit to Winnipeg since the January 23, 2021 deal for Pierre-Luc Dubois.
“Yeah, well, points are points, it doesn't matter where they come, but it's a little bit special here," Laine said. "It's nice to hear the fans booing a little bit when I scored, but that's just the way it goes. It was a special, special night to get the win here.”
And it sure didn't take long for the two to find the scoresheet.
After being held off the stats line in his first game back in the 'Peg, Laine scored the game-opener on Friday, burying his third of the season 6:48 into the game. Taking a pass from offseason acquisition Johnny Gaudreau, Laine ripped a wrister past David Rittich top-corner, short-side.
https://twitter.com/CBrooksie84/status/1598851731370422272
"It didn't matter if I scored zero tonight and played a bad game, as long as we win," Laine added. "That's the most important thing and that's why we're here, so we are really happy that we got it done. Now we got to build from here and keep it going.”
Roslovic - the lone former Jet that actually registered a point in the pair's March 25, 2022 return to Winnipeg - was heavily boo'd each time he touched the puck on Friday. But he clearly didn't let things get to his head, as he added another helper this time around. He did so shortly after Laine's marker, collecting the assist on a weird Erik Gudbranson goal. The defenceman's shot was saved by Rittich's pad, but bounced directly off the shinpad of Pierre-Luc Dubois and into the open net.
Rittich - who was making his first start since the monumental collapse-turned-overtime win - would need some offensive support as the game wore on, in order to help maintain his 3-1-0 record coming in. But like he did on countless occasions from 2016-2020, Laine bulged the twine yet again.
The first period ended with the teams knotted up at 11 shots, while the second period proved little different.
Despite keeping things close, Winnipeg gave up another two tallies in the frame. The first, to Laine.
Scoring just 3:19 into the middle stanza, the Finn took a great setup pass from Boone Jenner, before absolutely ripping it past a sprawling Rittich. Gaudreau picked up the second helper on Laine's fourth of the year. Coming off a hyper-extended elbow, Laine wasted little time showing his worth.
Gaudreau didn't stop there either, picking up another assist on the Blue Jackets' fourth of the game - a tap in by Gus Nyqvist for his fourth of the season.
“Johnny’s Johnny; a top player in the league. I kinda knew what I can expect from him and he made good plays," Rittich said. “Good plays, good players. When they see an open guy on the back door they’re going to make the play. We gotta look at the video tomorrow and figure out what we did wrong and how we can get better.”
The closest Winnipeg came to finding the net in the second was a post by Morgan Barron. An extended shift that saw three quality scoring chances couldn't even solve Korpisalo. A couple diving stops highlighted the work of the 28-year-old backstop. Rittich, on the other hand, wasn't quite as lucky.
"Going down 4-0 is a lot different than three," Pierre-Luc Dubois said. That goal really hurt.”
Taking over the shot lead 25-21, the Jets fell behind 4-0 through 40 minutes, with Columbus scoring four times on just 21 shots on net.
Although given three power play opportunities in the third, the Jets were unable to materialize any sort of a comeback this time around. Korpisalo slammed the door on nearly everything Winnipeg threw his way. The thin crowd grew thinner as the game wore on. With an announced attendance of 13,240, Friday's game marked the second-smallest crowd of the season (30 less were in attendance against Chicago a month ago).
“Yeah. The power play wasn’t even close," head coach Rick Bowness said blatantly. "That power play could have turned the game around for us and they didn’t. They didn’t execute. No. So, that’s on them. It is a statement. If you’re not going to work, you’re not going to go back out.”
Opting to pull Rittich for the extra attacker on a power play with 5:49 remaining in the period, Josh Morrissey rattled the iron on a long range clapper, before setting up Blake Wheeler for another heavy shot. The rebound fell to PLD, who batted in his 11th of the season, cutting the lead to 4-1.
With Rittich remaining on the bench, Laine came oh so close to finishing the hat trick on two occasions, once hitting the post, before Wheeler made a kick save to deny a second opportunity with two minutes remaining.
Rittich saw his record fall to 3-2-0 on the season, while turning aside 22 of Columbus' 26 shots. Korpisalo stood tall in net for the Jackets, stopping 37 pucks on the night. The Jets fell to 14-7-1 and remain three points behind Dallas for first in the Central Division.
“Listen, we’re in a dogfight to make the playoffs; every game is important," Bowness added. "I don’t care who we play. Like I said this morning, we set the standard of how we’re going to play, regardless of who we play. And as I told them after the game, it’s on every individual to look at yourself first. Don’t look at anything else. Look at yourself first and foremost.”
Coming off an emotional 5-0 win over the reigning Stanley Cup champions was no excuse, according to the coach. His players backed it up, but hope its just one loss to shake off.
"No team goes 82 wins and zero losses, we got chances," Dubois said. "They had quick chances and took advantage of them. There were spurts in the game where we had momentum and were going around the zone. I thought the power play could have got us going and it didn’t. That doesn’t help. But it’s a long season. Like I said, you can’t win All 82. And we’ve got to learn from this one.”
The four-game homestand continues for Winnipeg, which will next see yet another familiar face as Paul Maurice's Florida Panthers pop into Manitoba on Tuesday evening, following a Sunday afternoon tilt with the Anaheim Ducks. Both games can be found live on TSN.
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