Next day takeaways: 3 thoughts as the Winnipeg Jets drop their first game of the season

The Winnipeg Jets season-opening eight-game winning streak ended on Monday night as they battled against the Toronto Maple Leafs, falling just short in a 6-4 defeat. Here are a few things to take away from Monday’s contest. 

The Jets’ five-on-five play gave them no chance

The Jets’ defence core, collectively, had their worst game of the season on Monday night. Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg were on the ice for all five even-strength goals against, as they each ended as a -5. That pairing has had a strong start to the season, keeping the costly turnovers to a minimum, but on this night, they had a handful of turnovers leading directly to high-danger chances and, more often than not, goals against. 

Scott Arniel was not pleased with his team’s performance, especially in the first two periods where the Leafs were able to put up five goals: “They wanted it and they came in here and gave us a punch right in the nose in the first two periods.” 

Up front, the Jets’ forward core simply did not generate enough at five-on-five, which has been a concerning trend to begin the season. Arniel elected to switch the lines heading into the third period, looking for an offensive spark as the Jets trailed 5-2. 

Kyle Connor spoke about the importance of the line changes and how they can help:  “Anytime you can change the lines up and try and get a little spark, play with some faces you haven’t played with, it can give you a little jolt. There wasn’t really much (offence) there, so it was kind of a last-ditch effort, and I’m sure Arnie can elaborate more on that.” 

The Jets’ power play kept them in the game

The main reason the Jets were able to make this game competitive and a one-goal game with three minutes left was their red-hot power play, which went 2/4 on this night. The other two goals came in 6-on-5 situations, leaving the Jets with zero five-on-five goals on this night. 

While the Jets strive for more offence at even strength, it’s clear that their power play is off to an incredible start in 2024-25. 

The power play is now 12/25 (48%) to begin the season as the far and away number-one unit across the National Hockey League. When asked about what is working so well, Josh Morrissey pointed to a few key characteristics that he noticed are different this year than last. 

“I think there’s a pace that we’re playing at and executing at that we haven’t had in the past,” Morrissey said. “We’re on the same page, and we’re getting opportunities in different ways, often from down low, up top, on the flanks and the slots. We want it to be a strength of our team and something that can get us back into games and close games out or put a game out of reach. So tonight, it got us back in that game and gave us a chance to at least pull the goalie and make a game of it in the third.”

Nikolaj Ehlers in the “pop” position, constant puck and player movement, and some incredible shooting talent from the likes of Kyle Connor have resulted in the league’s top power play. While a 48% power play isn’t sustainable, the Jets are proving early on that they have the talent to have a top-five power play in the NHL this season, which could help guide their way back into the playoffs.  

Jets battled back

Despite being outclassed for the first 40 minutes, the Jets and their elite power play were still able to make this a game in the third period. While the list of negatives coming out of this game is longer than the list of positives, that is one area that the Jets can hang their hat on. 

“I think we believe that we’re a great hockey team,” Morrissey said when asked about the fight in the third-period post-game. “We believe in each other and our systems, and it’s given us a chance to have a good start to the season. But also, we’re a mature group. We obviously have a lot of guys that have been together for a while. And something we talk about is just being relentless. No matter what the game looks like, you’re trying to stay in it and find a way to win a battle, and those little battles usually add up to good things happening. So obviously it wasn’t a great start to put ourselves down 4-0 like we did, but I was proud of the way we fought back and we’re gonna need that effort all year long. “

This is one of the traits that good hockey teams have, and it’s one that the Jets were lacking when Rick Bowness arrived, which prompted his “pushback” presser after the Jets had been eliminated from the playoffs. 

Up next:

The Jets’ next opportunity to bounce back will be Wednesday, Oct 30th, when they travel to Detroit to take on the Red Wings. With the power play running red-hot and their five-on-five offence leaving something to be desired, it will be interesting to see if Arniel elects to make any line changes for that game similar to the ones we saw in period three on Monday.