In Winnipeg, the Jets played their first game without head coach Paul Maurice, who resigned earlier in the day on Friday.
The Jets lost with Adam Lowry as their bench boss, 5-2, to the Washington Capitals.
“It was obviously a pretty emotional day, just for everybody,” the Jets’ Brenden Dillon said. “A lot of guys here, guys like [Mark Scheifele] and [Blake Wheeler] have spent eight years with Paul. For a lot of us, even myself just getting here this year, when you think about Winnipeg Jets hockey, you think of Paul Maurice leading the way. For us, trying to get going for tonight, that first period, we were maybe a little bit just kind of in the moment of everything going on, but as the game went on, we got better.”
The game was 2-2 in the third period until the Caps broke out with a three-goal barrage for the win.
“I thought we did play a fast game,” Lowry said following his NHL coaching debut. “When you put up 40 shots you’re doing something right. I thought it might have taken us a little while to get it going, but the second period I thought we did a good job of playing fast, managing the puck, creating opportunities.”
Vitek Vanecek made 40 saves in the Caps win.
Brenden Dillon and Josh Morrissey were the Winnipeg strikers.
“We all care and we want to do well, but it’s just finding a way, and especially when times aren’t going great,” Dillon said. “Maybe it is finding a bounce or working for it or an off-the-shin pads (goal). I think with our team, we’re so talented, we want to make that one great play because we know we can make it. Sometimes it might just take a knuckle or something to get us going.”
Washington improved to 18-5-7.
The Capitals’ Connor Sheary, Michael Sgarbossa, and Alex Ovechkin scored the three goals in the third period outburst.
“I think we knew in the second period we had the lead but we weren’t playing our best,” Sheary said. “We got challenged in the third to go out and just have a good period, and [Vanecek] was a big part of that. He kept us in in the second, and in the third made the saves he needed to. And we were able to bury the game-winner. It gives us a big boost on the bench when he’s making saves and doing that stuff and keeping us in the game. So kudos to him.”
The Jets dropped to 13-9-5.
Brett Leason and Daniel Sprong also scored for Washington.
“I think we were just skating, using our speed and just getting pucks in behind them and doing all the hard work,” Leason said. “I thought we had lots of chances. Definitely could have got a bit more, but we’re satisfied.”
Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves in the Jets loss.
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