Jets get quick start, but fall to Capitals in overtime

WASHINGTON - A quick start and some late game heroics still weren't enough for the Winnipeg Jets (17-12-6) to start their four-game road trip with two points.
Cole Perfetti scored his first National Hockey League goal as part of a 2-0 lead the Jets built in the first 2:20 of Tuesday's tilt against the Washington Capitals (22-9-9), but after Pierre-Luc Dubois tied the game late in regulation, Washington's Tom Wilson potted the overtime winner just 26 seconds into the extra frame to give the Capitals a 4-3 win.
"It definitely feels like a point dropped instead of a point gained," said Dubois. "Getting a point in a building like this against a good team is good but when you go up 2-0 within five or six minutes and we're playing well the first 10 of the first, you feel like you let it slip away."

Recently named NHL All-Star Kyle Connor had the other goal for the Jets in regulation, his 21st of the season.
The line of Connor, Dubois, and Perfetti combined for five points in the game. The trio felt they built on their first game together, which was four days ago in Detroit.
"Part of the learning curve is to make mistakes and to try plays, and for me as a centreman to try and help him out if he does make mistakes," said Dubois of Perfetti. "The more confident he gets in himself with what he can and can't do, the better player he's going to become."

An eventful opening 62 seconds saw Nikolaj Ehlers draw a slashing penalty on Dmitry Orlov on the game's opening shift, and on the ensuring power play, Connor pounced on an Andrew Copp shot off the end boards for his 21st of the season and a 1-0 Jets lead.
It was the sixth time in the last seven games that the Jets had converted on the man advantage.
"You look at the team that you're playing, they've got a bunch of world-class all-stars on their team and they're not going to go away," said Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry. "We are disappointed we lost the second point but I look at it (as) it's a big point and we're not going to diminish that."
The quick start continued for the Jets with Perfetti snapping home his first NHL goal just 1:18 later.
Dubois sent a perfect pass to the Jets 2020 first overall pick on a two-on-one, and Perfetti wired a wrister past Vitek Vanecek, raising his arms and pounding the glass to commemorate the long-awaited milestone.
"I don't actually know where I put it in the net. I kind of blanked and then it was all just a whirlwind," Perfetti said. "I came back to the bench and actually looked at Dubie and I said 'I can't believe I just scored in the NHL.' It was just kind of a surreal moment."

Before the game, Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry spoke about the opportunity Perfetti had to show his skills and vision playing with those two elite players. The 20-year-old had three shots on goal in 13:04 of ice time, and the three players generated five high-danger chances at five-on-five - and more importantly - gave up none against (according to Natural Stat Trick).
"We can talk about Cole but we have to be mindful of who he's playing with. He's playing with a couple of world-class players," said Lowry. "Cole complements those guys and what we want to do is continue to expect him to get better at the game that he plays."
That 2-0 lead was cut in half with 3:02 left in the opening frame, when Alex Ovechkin took advantage of some open space. Initially, the puck was knocked off the Capitals' captain's stick on the right wing side by Logan Stanley, but he and defensive partner Nate Schmidt got caught on the same side of the ice. Ovechkin slipped over to the left side and beat a sprawling Connor Hellebuyck off a feed from Garnet Hathaway.
When the Jets couldn't extend the lead further - both Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois hit the post in the first - the Capitals got back on even footing 4:26 into the second. A face-off win to the right of Hellebuyck got back to Orlov at the point, and his quick shot got through the maze of bodies in front of the Jets goaltender and finding twine to tie the game at two.
Washington took a 3-2 lead on some good fortune 4:15 into the third period, as an Aliaksei Protas wrap around attempt went off the skate of Schmidt in the crease, then Hellebuyck's pad, and trickled over the line.
With Hellebuyck out of the net for an extra skater, Mark Scheifele unleashed a one-timer that was stopped by Vanecek, but Adam Lowry got to the loose puck and quickly fed it back in front, where Dubois was waiting to bang home the equalizer with 1:05 left in regulation.

It was Dubois' 16th of the season, and his second point of the night.
The elation was short lived though, as Wilson got to a loose puck in front of Hellebuyck just 26 minutes into three-on-three, and shovelled it home to end the game.
"it's going to be a long road trip. Every team on this road trip is doing really well right now and are good teams," said Dubois. "At the end of the year, when you look at the standings, it's usually a point or two that mean you're in or you're out of the playoffs. So for us to get a point tonight, it's a point in the bank."
The road trip continues on Thursday in Nashville.
ICE CHIPS
Nikolaj Ehlers left the game in the third period after being kneed by Orlov midway through the third period.
The winger was able to get off the ice under his own power, but left the bench shortly after.
"He's not going to play next game. That's probably all that I can offer you right now," said Lowry. "He will be re-evaluated in the morning and he's probably going to be longer than just one game."