The Winnipeg Jets drop their second straight game Friday when losing 4-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights on the road. Jets Netminder Eric Comrie did everything he could to help keep Winnipeg in the game but allowed four goals on 30 shots with most of the goals not being at his fault.
Golden Knights forwards Brett Howden and Ivan Barbashev had massive performances with two goals a piece. The Jets had a multi-goal scorer of their own with Cole Perfetti, who snapped his 11-game goal drought in a big way.
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The game started off very quick with both sides playing very tight defensively. The Golden Knights got an opportunity with a power play but they’ve struggled on the man advantage with just one power play goal in their last six games. This was far different than the 16 power play goals they scored over their first 17 games, giving them the second-best percentage in the league.
They couldn’t capitalize however and the Jets used the kill to their advantage. Just minutes later, Winnipeg charges up the ice with Nikolaj Ehlers getting a chance, cutting across the net but Adin Hill makes the save. The Jets have the puck in the Vegas end and work the puck to Josh Morrissey, who takes a shot on net that deflects off Perfetti cutting across and re-directs past Hill for the game’s first goal.
Winnipeg continued the pressure trying to add to their lead with top line forwards Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor generating some scoring chances on a power play caused by a Howden holding call but ultimately Winnipeg couldn’t get one past Hill.
In the last two minutes of the period, Morgan Barron gets caught not paying attention and attempts to make a drop pass to the defence but gives it away to an already fast-moving Howden, who was looking to make up for his penalty. He does so by blowing past Logan Stanley on the Jets blue line and walking in with a clean breakaway and cuts across the crease and beating Comrie for an easy goal, tying up the game at one a piece.
Vegas wastes no time adding onto their lead as Jack Eichel leads a rush into the Jets end with just seconds left in the period. He works a pass to the top of the slot for Pavel Dorofeyev, who takes a shot on net that Comrie saves but the rebound kicks out to a wide-open Barbashev, giving the Golden Knights their first lead of the game heading into the second.
The next 20 minutes, Winnipeg wanted to show they were tired of the sluggish plays and landed seven hits in the first five minutes of the second period. The Jets were behind in the shot department but their puck possession kept them in the game as they tried to generate some scoring chances.
Similarly to the Golden Knights go-ahead goal, the Jets rushed down the ice for a odd man rush with five minutes left in the period. Morrissey wheels up with the puck and quickly recognizes the passing lane to Alex Iafallo in the middle is blocked and Perfetti has his passing lanes blocked on the other side of the ice. Morrissey takes a quick shot off Hill’s pad looking for it to rebound to Perfetti on the other side for a tap-in goal. He succeeds with perfect accuracy as Perfetti doesn’t miss and records his second goal of the game to ties things up.
The game was tied and Winnipeg looked to regain the lead in the opening minutes of the third with seven shots in the first four minutes of the period. The Golden Knights get a lucky break as it hits off Iaffalo’s skate and bounces to Eichel near the face-off dot. He finds Barbashev, who quickly turns after seeing the tipped puck and creates space for himself to be wide open in the slot for a pass. When Eichel dishes the pass, Barbashev doesn’t miss as he rips home the go-ahead goal to make it 3-2 for Vegas.
The Jets struggled to win faceoffs all night but made one halfway through the third count. Scheifele wins it back to Connor, who fires the puck across to Morrissey and gives Scheifele time to get to the net and clear space for a shot. He does so as Morrissey passes it to the top of the zone near the blue line to Neal Pionk. He doesn’t waste any time as Pionk fires the puck with a clear path to the net and goes top shelf past Hill for a very satisfying goal to tie things up at three.
The game was very close and appeared to be destined for extra time but Howden didn’t let it happen. The Manitoba native scores his second goal of the game with just four minutes left off an easy cross crease pass that saw Dylan DeMelo attempt to pinch towards William Karlsson but no one covered DeMelo’s man in Howden. It was an easy goal that could’ve been avoided if the Jets saw the play as it was happening and blocked the passing lane.
Winnipeg had an opportunity to tie at the end of the game after getting a power play in the last two minutes but were unsuccessful. The Jets will look to rebound and avoided their third straight loss in another challenging matchup against the Dallas Stars on Sunday. It has been a very tough road trip for Winnipeg as they’ve had to play many of the West’s best teams on the road but their hot start to the season still keeps them in the driver seat as they sit first place in the Central Division.
