After recovering from a lackluster first two periods against Boston on Friday night, the Winnipeg Jets rallied to tie the game, only to revert to their wayward ways down the stretch.
A late delay-of-game penalty created a power-play chance for the Bruins that produced the game-winning goal in the Jets’ 4-2 home loss.
“It’s disappointing,” Jets coach Dave Lowry said. “I notice that we battled. We battled to bring the game to even, and those are the penalties that you would like to get the kill. Those are the penalties where you try and pick up a teammate.”
Winnipeg, which had won four of its past five games before the loss, will aim to recover on Sunday night as it visits the struggling Chicago Blackhawks, who have lost three of four, including 3-1 at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
Ryan Hartman, a former Blackhawk, scored the go-ahead goal with 3:13 remaining in the third period to help the Wild clinch a four-game season sweep of Chicago.
Seth Jones scored for the Blackhawks, his first goal in 36 games, while Kevin Lankinen stopped 31 shots.
“I thought we played well,” Chicago coach Derek King said. “That’s a good hockey team. … ‘Lanks’ was outstanding; he kept us in the game. We had our opportunities; we just had a little breakdown on that go-ahead goal. … Overall a pretty solid effort.”
The Jets and Blackhawks split their first two meetings this season. Winnipeg defeated visiting Chicago 5-1 on Nov. 5 before the Blackhawks returned the favor at Canada Life Centre with a 3-1 victory on Feb. 14.
The Jets bemoaned multiple lost chances on Friday. Winnipeg’s power-play unit finished 0-for-5, while Nikolaj Ehlers was unable to convert a first-period penalty shot, failing on an attempt to beat Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark through his legs.
“I haven’t taken a penalty shot in five, six years,” Ehlers said. “I don’t really know. You try different things. Five-hole, I’ve been pretty lucky with those in my career, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I was too slow in my movement before the shot.”
Ehlers ultimately put the play past him, however, scoring the tying goal on a feed from Kyle Connor at 3:54 of the third period.
Ehlers enters Sunday on a four-game point streak, which includes a goal in three straight games. O’Connor, meanwhile, has 11 points in a six-game point streak, with his assist Friday allowing him to match his career highs in assists (35) and points (73).
Chicago rookie defenseman Alex Vlasic is expected to make his first appearance at the United Center on Sunday after his NHL debut Saturday. A second-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2019, Vlasic blocked a shot and logged 6:10 of ice time against the Wild.
Who will start in net for the Blackhawks remains up in the air, as the front office mulls whether to move starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury before Monday’s trade deadline. Chicago traded Brandon Hagel, the club’s second-leading goal scorer, to Tampa Bay on Friday.
Lankinen acknowledged he “absolutely” could start Sunday, but he wasn’t interested in handicapping the future.
“A lot of speculation going around, but that’s not really my job here,” he said. “My job is to stay focused and help the team.”
–Field Level Media
