Jets get strong start, but fall to Bruins

BOSTON - Every time the Winnipeg Jets and Boston Bruins face off - no matter how long its been since the last meeting - the physicality ramps up and the skill is on full display.
Saturday's matinee at TD Garden had all of that, including a pane of glass coming out place after a hit, and more - but unfortunately the Jets came up on the wrong end of the final score.
The Jets (17-14-6) had goals from Jansen Harkins and Andrew Copp, but David Pastrnak's power play marker 3:59 into the third was the eventual game winner in a 3-2 final.
Boston finished 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Jets came up empty on four opportunities with three of those coming in the final 20 minutes.
"We had some opportunities. They capitalized on theirs. We had some good chances," said Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry. "Give Boston credit. They got pressure. We didn't get the shot opportunities that we felt were warranted on the power play."

Blake Wheeler and Brenden Dillon returned to the line-up after missing nine and three games respectively. Wheeler played 21:39 with two shots on goal while Dillon, paired with Neal Pionk, played 18:21 and blocked three shots.

"When I looked at the calendar when I got hurt, I didn't think today was going to be a game I'd be playing," said Wheeler. "I think a lot of good in that game for our team, just one shot away really from that looking like a pretty darn good road win."
The start was a point of emphasis after Thursday's loss in Nashville, and it really seemed that the Jets took it to heart in Boston. They outshot the Bruins 11-4, earning a 2-1 lead at TD Garden through 20 minutes.
Harkins opened the scoring with his fourth of the season, when he took a drop pass from Dominic Toninato in the left face-off circle and wired it past Tuukka Rask 2:46 into the opening period.
After Boston's Oskar Steen tied the game off a broken play nine minutes later, the Jets responded with Copp's 11th of the campaign. This one came off the rush in the final minute of the first, as a Mark Scheifele pass from the left wing banked off Copp's skate and past Rask.

The Bruins roared back in the middle frame, getting the period's first 10 shots, and were rewarded with the tying goal 2:31 in. Charlie Coyle tipped a point shot from former Jet Derek Forbort for his ninth of the campaign.
"They're fast. I think that we can keep improving and I think we've put in really good minutes these past couple of games, but you never get an easy win in the NHL and there's a lot good teams," said Pierre-Luc Dubois. "This road trip is a good road trip and we're playing a lot of good teams. We knew it wasn't going to be easy and hopefully we can finish it off with a win tomorrow."
The Jets killed off a Toninato interference penalty 5:15 into the second and that seemed to level the ice surface a bit, as the Jets generated a offensive looks, but it stayed tied at two through 40.
A tripping call on Adam Lowry is what gave the Bruins their second chance on the man advantage, and the league's eighth-ranked power play took advantage of it.
Pastrnak teed off on a pass from Matt Grzelcyk and beat Hellebuyck over the left pad for his 19th of the season, and team-leading ninth power play goal.
"Pastrnak scores a goal and he gets a little bit of life," said Wheeler. "I thought they jumped a little bit after their goal, I think we sagged a little bit for a while and the last 10 (minutes) I liked."

Winnipeg tried to find the equalizer on a 6-on-4 power play chance in the dying 90 seconds of regulation, but Scheifele's one-timer whizzing by the right post was the closest they would come.
"Just wasn't our night on the power play is really what you chalk it up to," said Wheeler. "It seemed like those guys have been coming pretty darned close getting one every game here the last little bit. It's not going to go your way every night and tonight was the night it didn't go our way."
The road trip wraps up on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
"We don't have a chance to sit back and sulk about it," said Wheeler. "We get to turn the page right away tomorrow. Sometimes, if you end the road trip with a big win, you forget about what happened before."