The Winnipeg Jets couldn't score on a soccer net.
Once again, the anemic Jets offence and dreadful power play was exposed, this time in San Jose, as the Sharks beat Winnipeg 3-0 on Tuesday night in a game that meant so much to the visitors. Fact is, the Jets playoff hopes are fading more and more with every loss.
"The offence gave us a chance to win the game, we just didn't score," Bowness said. "We're still in eighth spot. We're going to find out what we're made of over the next little while."
In a game in which the Jets outshot the Sharks 41-30, fired more than a dozen shots wide and had 16 shots blocked, Winnipeg couldn't solve the mystery of James Reimer, the now internationally-renowned homophobe and a goaltender who still has a 3.21 goals against average and a weak .895 save percentage.
Only the Jets, a team that spends $37 million a year on goal scorers, could make Reimer look good.
The Jets have lost two straight, fallen to 41-31-3, and have not scored more than three goals in a game since March 11. They have gone 9-12-2 since the All-Star break and are now only two points ahead of Calgary and three head of Nashville in the race for the final playoff spot (and Nashville has two games in hand).
"We're paid to produce, so we have to produce. That's the simplest way to put it," said Jets centre Mark Scheifele to reporters after the game. "I've got to create opportunities offensively, create some good chances and some goals. We need more of it. We need plays, we need to handle the puck better, we need to do a lot better."
Since March 5, the Jets have scored only 24 goals, that's the lowest number in the NHL during that stretch and includes a 5-4 win over Florida. Since scoring seven against Edmonton in Winnipeg on March 4, the Jets have been shutout three times (all by 3-0 scores) and have scored two goals or fewer on seven occasions. They are 5-6-1 during the stretch which is actually a tribute to goalie Connor Hellebuyck who gives the Jets a chance every night.
Noah Gregor, Kevin Labanc and Martin Kaut scored for San Jose who had lost nine in a row (o-6-3) heading into Tuesday's game. If there was a team ripe for the picking, it was San Jose, who were not very good, but outscored a Jets team that simply can't put the puck in the net. It's amazing that San Jose's last win was on March 6, a 3-2 overtime win in, you guessed it, Winnipeg.
Once again the Jets were horrible on the power play, going zero-for-three. The Jets are an embarrassing one-for-45 with the man advantage over their last eight games. That's a combination of stubborn coaching, sticking to system that clearly doesn't work anymore, and an inability to win important face-offs in the attacking zone.
By the way, the Jets have another coaching problem. Nikolaj Ehlers was given just just 13 minutes and 50 seconds of ice time and only 1:53 of power play time. That's either some sort of punishment (for what?) or a lack of attention being paid by the coaching staff. Especially when Vladislav Namestnikov got 17:11 (he couldn't carry Ehlers' skates to the rink), Blake Wheeler (who hasn't scored since Feb 14, 21 games ago) got 17:52 and Nino Neiderreiter (who hasn't scored in eight games) got a whopping 18:41 and 3:55 on the power play and yet, couldn't muster a shot on goal.
"We've got to be a desperate team," Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. "It's down to crunch time. We've just got to embrace that fight and embrace it together as a group and keep fighting. Fight with each other and put it all out there. That's all we can do."
The Jets can get desperate again on Friday night when they face the Detroit Red Wings at Canada Life Centre at 7 p.m.
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