BILLEK: It wouldn't hurt for the Winnipeg Jets to get back to what works

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Standards have fallen.

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Anyone who watched the first period of Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers could see that.

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The Winnipeg Jets did not appear as a team with a four-game losing streak at the Wells Fargo Centre. With that, they left with another loss to extend the streak.

“Our standard is to be ready to get off the puck,” defenseman Dylan DeMelo told reporters after the game. “We are ready to fight. We are ready for the details. We are ready for everything.”

The Jets were unprepared for the fast-moving Flyers team that dominated the first 20 minutes.

Winnipeg was impressive, winning 13-4 and 3-0 to effectively close out the game.

“There's a structure that dominates when we go and we've moved away from that over the last couple of weeks,” captain Adam Lowry said.

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DeMelo described it as “Unacceptable.”

DeMelo talked about how the Jets rallied in the second and third periods.

There was some truth to that, as they held the Flyers to just seven shots over the remaining 40 minutes.

They also gave up, you know, a shorthanded goal after a power-play-winning layup between Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey before the Flyers got their fourth goal on the scoreboard.

“You give our guys credit for fighting back,” head coach Rick Bowness said.

The battle will only take place in a city that saw its team explode last season, starting at this time.

I would still suggest to you that this is not the case.

In the past, the Jets would have been down 3-0. The final two stages on Thursday would not have seen the jets take off.

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This was not a score effect either.

As DeMelo and Bowness pointed out in their post-loss commentary, the Jets dominated the second and third periods.

They just can't score, scoring four goals during their losing streak.

Winnipeg came within 5:12 of being shut out for the third time in the last four games and the fourth time in the last eight.

Finally, Bowness hit an industrial-sized mixer from third to plate Nikolai Ehlers.

If history has taught us anything else, it's that Ehlers will produce and produce a lot in this game with Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi relegated to the fourth line.

Why Bowness did not return to this well, especially during the famine, is somewhat puzzling.

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That's a line that has outscored their opponents 15-4 while holding a combined 56% shot share and 56.91% expected goal percentage this season.

Speaking of dominant…

Bowness tried to finish the Eilers with Connor and Scheifele in Thursday's game, but did not do so Saturday against Pittsburgh at the Canadian Life Centre.

At this point, anything is worth a shot.

Which leads to another idea… #FreeVille.

The Jets struggled with interceptions heading into Thursday's game, and it hasn't been smooth sailing in that department for quite some time.

As Bowness looks to bolster his offense at forward, the instinctive puck-moving blueliner could do worse than young Will Heinola to miss two more games due to Brenden Dillon's hit. suspension.

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Let the child eat.

• This is Lowry's first real test of captaincy. His team is trying to catch the slide. He was calm after Thursday's loss. “How do we get out of this weirdo?” How can we get back to that elite team, 5-on-5 and that elite team and get what we expect from everybody? We are looking forward to this challenge,” he said.

• I spoke with Lowry about this moment before Christmas break. He said his job was easy because of the success at the beginning of the season. It's remarkable how level-headed he remains when talking to his teammates and defending Lowry for a decade. Never too high, never too low.

• Bowness bit his tongue when talking about Willardi's drop during the game. “It's just… trying to do something. That's all. Just trying to achieve something.” Villardi was caught flat-footed on the first goal, missing the part where he had to cover the pinch defender. Message sent.

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