Jets lose third period lead in setback against New Jersey

Prudential Center had been a friendly spot for the Winnipeg Jets. Since 2012, the Jets were 8-0-2 in the home rink of the New Jersey Devils, including a six-game win streak.
That streak came to an end on Sunday night.
Winnipeg (34-21-1) saw a 2-1 third period lead disappear in a span of 1:51, as they fell by a score of 4-2 and have now dropped the first two games of a four-game road trip.
"We just kind of gave them those two goals," said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. "Just bad mistakes. We had time to make a play and we didn't make a play."

Cole Perfetti and Neal Pionk scored the goals for the Jets. Pionk also had an assist on Perfetti's goal as part of a two-point performance, while Mark Scheifele added two assists of his own.
"We just kind of got away from it a little bit," said Scheifele of the Jets, who are now 23-2-0 when leading after two periods. "We were missing passes and we didn't execute as much as we should have. Then, when you play a skilled team like that... They made some plays."
Connor Hellebuyck made his return to the crease after missing one game due to illness, and serving in a back-up role against Columbus on Thursday. He made 25 saves on 28 shots in the loss.
"We were playing a pretty good game, keeping them to the outside and letting me see pucks," said Hellebuyck. "Tonight it was a couple turnovers and they capitalized. Unfortunately they fan on pucks and they still go in, sometimes luck is on their side."
Part of the intrigue coming into the tilt against New Jersey was the line-up shuffle Bowness used, changing up all the team's forward lines and power play units in practice the day earlier.
It was an attempt to spark some offence, and possibly get Winnipeg's power play (which had gone 3-for-33 since January 22) trending back in the right direction.
Early on, it looked like those changes - and an emphasis on getting to the net - paid off.

Perfetti took Bowness' wishes from Saturday's practice to heart, and it helped the Jets open the scoring. The forward got himself in the net front area, and he corralled a loose puck that hit Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and banged home his eighth of the season.
Dawson Mercer tied the game for the Devils 19 seconds later, but the Jets responded to the adversity well. With 2:51 to go in the opening period, Pionk used Mason Appleton as a screen, and blasted home his eighth of the campaign, beating Blackwood on the stick side.
That gave the Jets a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes.
Considering that lead, and the fact the Jets stayed ahead by the same score through 40 minutes, coming up short made a second consecutive loss on the trip even more difficult to take.
"We had won three in a row, now we've lost two in a row. Now we just have to get back to playing a full 60 minutes," said Bowness. "Our puck management tonight certainly got us in a lot of trouble. When we were in trouble, it was more us turning pucks over than anything else. We get over that, get going north and get skating again, we'll get going again."

Just over five minutes into the third, New Jersey turned the momentum in their favour. First, Fabian Zetterlund snapped home an Erik Haula pass from the slot for his sixth of the season. That was followed at the 6:53 mark of the final period by Miles Wood, who slipped home his ninth of the season.
Both goals came from the slot area off centering passes from below the goal line.
"They don't dump the puck in a whole lot," said Scheifele. "They make plays, they come with speed, they have some skilled guys that can make some plays, and yeah. They're tough to play against."
The new look power play units had two chances to tie the game in the third, but a Perfetti chance in the slot went wide and a Josh Morrissey one-timer from the back door side didn't get to the net.

The Jets went 0-for-3 on the man advantage in total.
"We had two Grade A's that we don't bury. Last one was a bit of a disaster," said Scheifele. "We have another one tomorrow and we'll see how it goes."
Mercer added an empty netter for his second of the night and a 4-2 Devils' lead in the final minute.
Winnipeg's schedule doesn't get any easier, as they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
The standings in the Central are getting tighter, but that isn't what Scheifele and his teammates are focusing on.
"Tonight's a tough one but we can't focus as much on other teams," he said. "We've got to focus on what a good Winnipeg Jets game looks like and there's still lots of games left."
ICE CHIPS
Nikolaj Ehlers left the game in the third period after being tripped by Devils defenceman Brendan Smith and didn't return. Ehlers appeared to hit his head on the play, but Bowness didn't have an update on the forward after the game.