Flyers flatten falling planes – Winnipeg Free Press

PHILADELPHIA – As their play began to slip in recent weeks, the Winnipeg Jets players and coaches struggled to avoid late second-half meltdowns.

Not this time. Not with this group. And their efforts were still enough to convince them that even if things didn't go their way, they would.

Thursday's putrid performance in Philadelphia — a 4-1 loss to the Flyers that extended their season-worst winless streak to five games — may have given fans of the NHL club a sense of deja vu.

“Our standard is we're ready to drop the puck, we're ready to face off, we're ready for detail, we're ready for everything,” Dylan DeMelo said. Free press Outside the team locker room at the Wells Fargo Center.

“That's why this first period was unfavorable for our group.”

Indeed, you could make the argument that the final tally favored the Jets, who gave up a trio of goals in 20 minutes, making it a very easy night for the Flyers, who added a shorthanded tally in the middle frame and then took over. took the foot off the gas and cruised the rest of the way.

“There's anticipation all season long. There's a structure that dominates when we're doing it and we've gotten away from that in the last couple of weeks,” captain Adam Lowry said.

“It starts with all of us. There are things we can all personally clean up, and then structurally there are things we can all clean up. I think some of it is ready to go right away.”

Fortunately for the Jets, they've created plenty of breathing room in the standings thanks to the franchise's best start. But a few more performances like this and all the good feelings will be replaced by the eternal ghosts of the past.

Winnipeg is now 30-14-5, but just 2-5-1 in their last eight games. A team that ranked first in the entire NHL in winning percentage in mid-January has now dropped to third in its division.

“I hope you get it out of our system now,” DeMelo said.

“This is a group, we can overcome difficulties. We feel confident with this. We learn here every day. We will continue to improve. And we will get out of this little impasse together.”

Philadelphia improved to 27-19-6 after snapping a five-game losing streak at Florida on Tuesday night.

Let's go to this tape and analyze it further:

1) DISABLE HOP: Winnipeg's advance scout told them one important thing about Philadelphia – they're a dynamic team. Be careful not to burn yourself.

It certainly fueled coach Rick Bowness to see his team score the first goal just 3:37 into the game, Ryan Poehling feeding Tyson Foerster in the net.

Jets shortstop Gabe Vilardi, who pinch-hit Dylan Samberg, was unable to tie the Foers. It was not his best moment.

“It was a gift. We were there. We let him (Foerster) go,” said an exasperated Bowness.

It's worth noting that Villardi dropped from the front row along with Morgan Barron and Vlad Namestnikov to the fourth row with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Alex Iafallo stepped up.

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse when Travis Konecny ​​took advantage of an opportunity to circle the Winnipeg defense at 14:03, then Morgan Frost pounced on a loose puck that deflected off the face of Jets defenseman Nate Schmidt seconds earlier. Make it 3-0 at 18:06.

“It (the first goal) put us back a little bit. Then they got some shots with their pucks,” Bowness said.

2) POWER PLAY HAS A NEW DOWN OPTION? It's too bad the Jets started the night on a 2-for-34 slide in their last 10 games with the man advantage “enjoyment.”

But when Kyle Connor and Josh Morrissey collided at the Winnipeg blue line on their first break on the power play in the second period, Poehling took full advantage and went down for a shorthanded tally.

Winnipeg went 0-for-3 on the night, making them 2-for-37 in their last 11 games.

Nikolaj Ehlers hit the arc, had decent puck movement and opportunities, but in a results-oriented business, it's just white noise.

3) too little, too late: Early in the third period, there was a sequence that perfectly summed up the state of Winnipeg's offense on the day.

Connor appeared to bounce the puck off his own foot. Perhaps tired because it was the end of the shift, he followed the Flyers defenseman and Ehlers joined him. It was now 2 to 1.

The Jets didn't even manage a punt, as Connor's pass to Ehlers fell behind.

Connor scored a goal late in the period, his team-leading 19th of the season. More interestingly, Bowness moved Ehlers to play with Scheifele and Connor, while Vilardi took over Ehlers' starting spot on the second line with Sean Monahan and Gabe Vilardi.

While the Flyers had no reason to push the game with a comfortable lead, the Jets showed some signs of life. Bowness said it's something to build on.

“The key is how you respond, and I thought we responded really well in the second and third period, we dominated,” Bowness said.

The Jets have scored just 10 goals in their last eight games.

It starts with me. We will get through this,” Bowness said.

“Listen, five-on-five we're still the best team in this league. Right now we are not scoring goals. So we're going to be what the Winnipeg Jets are and we're going to keep working and we're going to get through this.”

4) PENNSYLVANIA DISEASE: Bad news. The Jets have played nine rounds of hockey against Pennsylvania teams this year. They won 9-1.

The bad news: Their next three games are against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who shut them out 3-0 on Tuesday night and travel to the Canadian Life Center on Saturday night.

The Flyers took both games of the home-and-home season series, with rookie goaltender Samuel Ersson coming close to a pair of shutouts. He stopped all 35 shots in a 2-0 win at Winnipeg on Jan. 13 and turned away 28 of 29 shots on goal Thursday.

At the other end of the rink, Laurent Brossoit started for Winnipeg and stopped 17 of the 21 shots he faced. Given the play in front of him, it's hard to place any blame on his shoulders.

“You don't want to hang your goalie out to dry,” Lowry said.

“Our goal was great. It's been the best in the league all year, so you know they're the backbone of this team and you want to compete, you want to fight for it. You want to give him the best chance, the best chance to win, and unfortunately we didn't do that early on.”

5) ADDITIONALLY, ADDITIONALLY: Logan Stanley pitched for the first time in 22 games as Brenden Dillon pitched the first of a three-game shutout. He finished with three shots on goal in 14:51 of ice time and was minus-two.

Forwards Rasmus Cupari and Dominic Toninato were two healthy scratches.

Konecny ​​had a first-period hat trick from Gordie Howe, who assisted on Frost's goal and tackled Neil Pionk.

A bright spot for the Jets was 4-for-4 on the penalty kill, including a five-on-three advantage with 58 seconds left in the third period, including a diving stop on Brossoit.

“These aren't morale victories, but they're little things we can take and be motivated against Pittsburgh,” Lowry said.

“This is our expectation for the next 48 hours. How do we get out of this fantasy? How can we get back to that elite team, 5-on-5 and that elite team and get what we expect from everybody. We look forward to this challenge.”

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Mike McIntyre
Sports reporter

Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when this dream did not come true, he tried his best to become a professional writer.

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