Here are five reasons why the Winnipeg Jets are on a five-game losing streak

Gabriel Villardi was the main story, the defiance, a talented young player who immediately lent his appeal to the Winnipeg Jets' PL Dubois blockbuster.

Villardi shined in camp, when he put a back pass to Kyle Connor for a preseason power play goal that stunned Winnipeg. Connor and Villardi's thoughts went over Mark Scheifele's roof and went viral among fans and Jets brass. If he can make that play while getting to know his new team, what can Villardi do at full strength?

Blake Lizotte's knee blew the air out of that dream three games into the season. Villardi persevered, returned to the lineup six weeks later and stepped up in a big way when Ryan Strome's knee sidelined Kyle Connor for 16 games. The knee he wore bothered him, but didn't seem to be holding him back: Villardi scored the game-winning goal the night Connor was injured, then scored six goals and had six assists for 12 points in the next six games.

His new line with Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers was unstoppable last night against his former team in Los Angeles. You may remember this beauty:

The Ehlers-Scheifele-Vilardi line outscored opponents 15-4 going five-for-five as the Jets won 12 of their next 15 games and went on an eight-game winning streak from December 30th to January 11th. Scheifele was injured. in its eighth straight win – a 2-1 cracker against Chicago – and Winnipeg's struggles began.

Philadelphia ended Winnipeg's winning streak in the next game. Connor soon returned, but the Jets have lost six of eight since going on an eight-game winning streak. They've lost five straight, including Thursday's rematch with the Flyers, and for the first time this season, the Jets seem unanswered. Villardi's failed check on Philadelphia's first goal saw him dropped to the fourth row in favor of Alex Iafallo, but it wasn't enough to pull back.

The Jets seem stuck and have only enjoyed the 48 minutes that Connor, Scheifele and Vilardi have been dreaming of this season. Winnipeg was outscoring its opponents 29-20 in those minutes, 3-1, so there are reasons to keep the dream alive, but the losses are mounting.

How big of a deal are we dealing with here? Is this a repeat of last season's second half slump? I think Jets fans are starting to worry.

How did this get worse?

1. Nothing is free

For all the Jets' firepower, Winnipeg's winning ways hinge on team defense. The Jets win when they forecheck well, forecheck well, when they drop down the middle of the ice between face-off points in the defensive zone, and when they turn stout defense into offense with quick passes.

It bears repeating: five to five, where the Jets are up, they're one average attacking team. Winnipeg has shot more five-on-five than any other team in the league (61.3 percent), but is “just” 14th in scoring. The Jets are an elite five-on-five team on paper, as their field goal percentage is 12 better than anyone else in the league. It's all no longer a goal: Winnipeg's primary defensive numbers are at the top of the league.

A reminder to Pittsburgh though. Jesse Puljujarvi leads the Penguins' rush up the ice, but Mason Appleton looks back with the tenacity you want from the Jets' offense. He won and turned three or two rushes into pucks — mostly wins. Puljujarvi puts the puck into Dylan DeMelo's corner. DeMelo takes Lars Eller out of the game and puts the puck on Josh Morrissey's stick, winning most of the time. Morrissey eats the check when he passes to a lonely Adam Lowry, but the puck rolls and Lowry can't defend it, and Kris Letang makes the Jets pay for their mistake.

Winnipeg also gave away the first goal against Philadelphia for free, and the error was unforced.

This time, Dylan Samberg tried to pinch the line of scrimmage, but lost: Noah Cates threw a quick pass to Tyson Foerster, who started a two-on-one. Villardi takes three quick steps to get to Foerster's safety, makes the right initial read, and then everything goes wrong. Neal Pionk attempted to knock Foerster's pass to Ryan Poehling out of the air, leaving him half a step out of bounds. His turn is slow and Poehling beats him outside, which shouldn't be a problem because Villardi has… Right?

This was the play that demoted Villardi.

A team that scores more than one goal per game, which the Jets haven't been able to do lately, can sometimes get away with allowing a goal like that.

Check out social media and you'll bet I'm sure Winnipeg is a better team than they were last season – it's unlikely the slide will last much longer. Part of that is because the Jets have given up very few free throws this season. To me, that's a huge indicator of a quality defensive team. Turnovers happen and good teams lose games, I thought, but as long as the Jets' defensive structure holds up, they'll be fine.

Back to Connor Hellebuyck's draw on Ryan Reaves' goal for Toronto before halftime: Even though Winnipeg still carried the flow of the game five-on-five, the Jets' mental mistakes were costly to overcome.

Had Winnipeg focused more on other aspects of the game, its five-on-five defensive mistakes wouldn't have been as severe as they were.

2. Unpowered game

Winnipeg's power play is 0-for-14 in the Jets' five-game losing streak and 1-for-30 in its last eight games.

But even if you take away Winnipeg's most dominant stretch of the season — its 18-2-2 tear from Dec. 2 to Jan. 20 — the Jets' power play was still terrible. Winnipeg is currently running at 15.1 percent, good for 25th in the NHL, but was even worse (14.5 percent) in the team's 22 games through most of December and January.

Usually it's something you go into the bank for a spin. Scheifele, Connor, Vilardi, Morrissey and rookie Sean Monahan are all quality offensive players. That's why it can be frustrating to see Scheifele parked on the half-wall without much movement by him or his teammates. He's a great passer, but lanes are drying up, even when the Jets establish possession.

Winnipeg is improving on that front — average time in the offensive zone, up from 24th when we last checked in. They still have the third fewest shots per minute of power play time (and the fourth fewest shots on goal). It's also worth mentioning that Monahan's former teammates have called him one of the best bumper players in the league.

But Winnipeg's power play was 24th best in two years under Rick Bowness and power play coach Brad Lauer. It was the Jets' 12th best in three seasons without Dustin Byfuglien before the Jets' coaching change (and even better in the Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler and Patrick Lane eras).

If a team with this much star power can't produce the amount of shots, shots or goals, it's down to the coach. Remember, even though playoff hockey is called differently than the regular season, the total number of power play opportunities goes away up, not lower. We're seeing what happens when a great five-on-five team with poor special teams loses even a little bit of its five-on-five edge. At this rate of ineffectiveness, Winnipeg's strong play could carry them into the playoffs.

Especially since the Jets went 2-1 on the penalty kill in their last nine games. It's a cherry-picked stat — Winnipeg has given up four short-handed goals this season — but it stands out horribly when the team's scoring runs dry.

3. Boxing and interrupted plays

Winnipeg's penalty kill wasn't much better than its power play.

A quick audit of recent goals might be a collection of failed pucks and bounces, but actually successful puck passes.

But check out Jeff Carter's battle with Nate Schmidt in front of Hellebuyck before he scores in this clip. Carter checks against Schmidt as Erik Karlsson loads a wrist shot to the point. When the Penguins' bumper player flipped the puck to Schmidt — a play that Schmidt couldn't handle — Carter was first for the ensuing possession as he won the battle for space.

It's not about the blow that Schmidt faces. It's about Carter doing the dirty work to make sure Schmidt is off balance when the battle starts.

Schmidt isn't one of Winnipeg's primary options on the penalty kill. Sort by ice time and Winnipeg relies more on DeMelo, Samberg, Brenden Dillon and Pionk than anyone else. He gets called into the game when one of the other defensemen takes a penalty, but even though Schmidt's PK minutes don't match his high shot rate, he still scores more often than his peers.

I think the Jets would benefit from a fifth quarterback who can win these battles more often than Schmidt. His five-on-five numbers with Samberg are incredible; he's helping Winnipeg win these minutes. I still suspect that PK ability will be high on Winnipeg's shopping list for defensemen at the deadline. If they get their man, I suspect Schmidt's minutes will disappear.

4. The offensive stars went cold

Connor is one of the best scorers in the NHL. He scored his seventh goal in the last five seasons and was flirting with Rocket Richard's lead during a knee injury. Connor has looked rusty since returning to the lineup, handling the puck well at times, but making several mistakes in recent games. His one-timer isn't traditionally the best of his many weapons, but on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, he swam a pair of high-and-wide one-timers several yards out.

Scheifele is also one of the best goal scorers in the league. He has played twice since being injured against Chicago at the end of Winnipeg's eight-game winning streak. He's bounced around in those games, but has yet to score.

Villardi and Ehlers lead the Jets with five points per minute each. Ehlers' last goal came on a three-for-three in Winnipeg's last OT win on Jan. 20 in Ottawa. Villardi's last goal was the game before that. You could go on and on through Cole Perfetti, Nino Niederreiter, Lowry, and many other players that Winnipeg believes will run the offense. No one scores with any consistency.

One statistic to keep in mind?

Winnipeg has the second-worst shooting percentage in the league over its last 10 games. Subtract the Jets' two full seasons under Bowness and company, and the Jets' snipers are in the middle of the pack when it comes to shooting efficiency.

Whether you blame strong play or empty-net goals for a drop in confidence, this kind of drought isn't usually the kind that lasts.

This is what contributes to the team's five-game losing streak.

5. Warning about string combinations

As costs rise, Bowness and company find themselves in situations where they no longer support the use of players.

Connor and Villardi are not scoring. They're contributing to the scoring (and in Vilardi's case, at least that's resulted in one fourth-string game). The appeal of that Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi trio makes a lot of sense to me; There's plenty of offense if it works, and given every player's injury woes this season, it makes sense to give him a good, long look if possible.

Part of the strength of the Jets' roster is their depth. Whether it's a return to Ehlers-Scheifele-Vilardi, Connor-Scheifele-Ehlers, or some other combination of players who consistently beat opponents, Bowness has options he's not using right now. I think the odds are in favor of a percentage regression that helps the Jets regain their confidence in the long run; something has to give in a short period of time. Winnipeg is making a few more mistakes at five-on-five right now, so they need to play on the power play or kill the penalty or change the puck luck.

Winnipeg's five-on-five game is a good base. Without improvements to the rest of the Jets' proverbial house, that foundation will crumble.

(Photo: Kyle Ross/USA Today)