Next day takeaways: 2 thoughts as the Winnipeg Jets lose their third straight game

The Winnipeg Jets dropped their third straight game (0-2-1) on Saturday night, a 4-2 defeat against the surging Detroit Red Wings, who won their fourth straight game. There was plenty to take away as the Jets hit the midway point of their season in game 41. 

The Jets had a strong push – too little, too late

Winnipeg got off to a slow start in this game, surrendering an early goal on the penalty kill to Dylan Larkin and being outshot 17-7 in the first period. 

According to Natural Stat Trick, the high-danger chances in the final two periods were 13-3 in the Jets’ favour, and Josh Morrissey and Scott Arniel both spoke about how the Jets controlled play for the final 40 minutes.

“In the second and third, we had the ice titled a lot towards their end,” Morrissey said after the game. “They had a better start to the third, but I thought we did some good things, and at the end of a five in eight days stretch, that’s where your margins for error are smaller, then maybe there’s some fatigue. That’s maybe where we need special teams to step up, obviously on the power play and PK, and sometimes that can be the difference.”

Whether it was missing the net, blocked shots, or otherwise, the Jets still only ended up with 23 shots on goal throughout this contest, and Alex Lyon was up to the task. 

It was a rare night in which the Jets’ special teams were at a disadvantage. The Red Wings went 2/3 on their power play opportunities, and the Jets went 0/2. 

The major storyline to watch for coming into the game was Connor Hellebuyck potentially getting his 300th career win against his hometown team, the Detroit Red Wings. His next opportunity to reach that milestone will come on Tuesday against the Nashville Predators. 

Colin Miller exits with an injury

Jets’ defenceman Colin Miller exited this game after taking a puck to the throat and will be re-evaluated over the next day or two, according to Scott Arniel. 

“As you saw there, he got the puck in the throat, so pretty serious, we’ll wait and see. He’s got to get looked at here, and we’ll have more of an idea tomorrow.”

In my post-game question regarding the upcoming stretch of rest, Arniel mentioned how the Miller injury could further affect the already injured defence core, stating: “The biggest thing for us is we need some people to get healthy. Lost another defenceman, so that’s going to change things again.”

On a night where Morrissey missed part of the first period with an, and the majority of the defence core struggled, the Miller injury threw another challenge at the Jets, who have suffered a handful of injuries in that area. 

Reinforcements are on the way, as Dylan Samberg and Haydn Fleury have both resumed skating in non-contact jerseys. The Samberg-Pionk pairing was positive in their goal share and possession numbers before Samberg’s injury, and that stability in the Jets’ top four will be more than welcome for Arniel and the coaching staff when he can return. 

Up next

The Jets’ next matchup comes Tuesday night inside Canada Life Centre against the Nashville Predators, who the Jets defeated 3-0 less than a week ago. 

That will be their only game from now until Friday, Jan 10, as their season-long eight-game homestand continues. They’ll then play a Friday/Saturday back-to-back at home against the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche to round out next week. 

Stay tuned to Illegalcurve.com for all the latest Jets news you’ll need over the long homestand, as well as the latest on the Manitoba Moose.