In Winnipeg, the Jets had a great opportunity to keep pace in the Western Conference wild card race on Wednesday night.
“Obviously we can’t afford to lose games right now, and that’s a game we shouldn’t lose,” the Jets’ Josh Morrissey said. “Just with their schedule and our desperation, they’re playing on a back-to-back. It’s frustrating. I think every guy knows that in the room. So that’s the emotion.”
The visiting Detroit Red Wings spoiled the Jets’ dreams with two goals in the third period to snap a 1-1 tie and send them to a 3-1 win.
Thomas Greiss made 32 saves in the Detroit win.
“We’ve gotten really good goaltending,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. “I thought Thomas allowed us to kind of get our legs tonight. We weren’t skating during the first. I didn’t think we were quick enough at all and I thought he allowed us to get our legs, and that’s a huge thing.”
Sam Gagner hit for a double for Detroit, including a late empty-net goal to ice the win.
“Sam’s been really good, but Sam’s been really good in a lot of ways,” Blashill said. “Sam’s really turned himself into an accountable, 200-foot player. He’s got good poise. He’s really, really, really smart. He’s very, very thoughtful as a person and he’s also provided really good leadership.”
The Red Wings moved to 28-34-9.
“These are the games we haven’t been good enough in,” Blashill said. “When we’ve been good as a team it’s when we’ve got our legs and everything kind of sets up and we’re on top of people and we have great energy. It’s these types of games that we’ve got to be better at.”
Mark Scheifele had the Jets only goal, in the middle frame.
Winnipeg fell to 33-28-10, and have lost three straight.
“I think we passed up some opportunities,” Winnipeg coach Dave Lowry said. “We had some good looks where we passed up shots looking to make that next play, looking to make a pass. We had opportunities we created. The first period we deserved a better fate and they get a bounce and they end up scoring. And we did a lot of really good things, and what that did was gave them some life, gave them some momentum and gave them a reason to stick around.”
Michael Rasmussen scored the game-winner in the third period when he gave Detroit a 2-1 lead.
“I think everyone was kind of frustrated how things were going, obviously, and I think just as a group we decided to collectively get our heads down and work harder and try to come up with some results,” Rasmussen said. “I think the past two games have been good for us and I think we’ve done just that. Top to bottom, everyone has had great efforts and we’ve come out with two wins.”
Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves in the Jets loss.
“I think they get a couple of lucky breaks coming the other way,” the Jets’ Kyle Connor said. “No matter what it is — we had good zone time, a lot chances — it’s still frustrating. We need to come out with a win. That’s the bottom line. We need two points at this time of the year. It’s tough.”
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