Jets score first, but drop tight-checking contest to Flames

WINNIPEG -In a tight game between two desperate teams, it usually comes down to who cashes in on their opportunities.
On Wednesday night, the Winnipeg Jets ended up on the wrong side of that ledger, as well as the final score.
Kyle Connor scored the lone goal for the Jets in a 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames, leaving the two teams tied for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
"We're still in eighth place," said head coach Rick Bowness, referencing the fact the Jets still hold the tiebreaker, and as a result, the final playoff spot. "We would have preferred to play more five-on-five. You take six penalties in a game like that, you're shooting yourself in the foot. There's no question about that. So that's what's disappointing."

Yes, as much as the missed opportunities for the Jets were a storyline, so too was the amount of penalties they took - along with the Flames.
Winnipeg went one-for-five on the power play, and a perfect six-for-six on the penalty kill, but all that special teams took a lot of the flow out of the game.
"It's tough for some guys to get in, depending on if we have a lot of power plays, a lot of PK's," said Pierre-Luc Dubois, who had an assist in the game to give him 300 career points. "But most of the game's played five-on-five, and it's sometimes tough. But it can be tough for both teams."
After two Jets penalty kills, the power play took advantage of a four-minute high-sticking penalty to Milan Lucic to open the scoring. From the left circle, Nikolaj Ehlers spotted Connor in the right face-off dot, and put the pass on the mark, and Connor blasted home his 31st of the season to make it 1-0 in favour of Winnipeg with 8:18 left in the first.
Winnipeg took that lead into the first period, much to the delight of the raucous crowd inside Canada Life Centre, where the Jets had won the first two games of the five-game home stand by a combined score of 12-3.
"They're telling us they're ready for the next couple weeks and we've got to be ready for that as well," said Nate Schmidt. "That's the kind of thing you want from your home crowd, to come out in a game like that, give you a lot of jam to get going."
A successful goaltender interference challenge by the Jets kept a Nikita Zadorov goal from tying the game, but not for long, as Andrew Mangiapane finished off a two-on-one rush with Mikael Backlund 6:06 into the middle frame to even things up at one.

The goal came shortly after a Winnipeg three-on-one rush was stopped by Jacob Markstrom. That was the first of the missed chances.
"We have a 3-on-1, we don't score, they go down on a 2-on-1, they score. It was one of those nights," said Bowness. "That could have been 2-0 right away and we can build off that. We had the chances, we just didn't score to give us that boost."
Still, the Jets kept pressing, leading to a pair of shorthanded breakaways for Schmidt.
"First one it just jumped over my stick. So I tried to grab it the second time and I think ran out of space," said Schmidt. "Second one, just kind of stay in it, I feel like I hadn't made the right move and just kinda finish it from there."
Calgary took their first lead on a tough bounce 4:08 into the third, as Walker Duehr's wrap-around attempt bounced off a body in front, and through Hellebuyck, to make it 2-1 Calgary.
Nikita Zadorov then made it 3-1 with his 11th of the season with 9:20 remaining in regulation, a wrister that beat Hellebuyck on the glove side just under the cross bar.

After that, Calgary made it extremely difficult for the Jets to get through the neutral zone with any speed.
"You're playing kind of into their hands," Bowness said. "We needed to generate some more speed through the neutral zone. That's what we were really focused on in the last 10 minutes. Moving the puck. They were all backing up and they're standing up and making you shoot it in and you've got to go to work."
The chances kept coming. Adam Lowry hit a post, and Nikolaj Ehlers had a breakaway in the final minutes of regulation that Markstrom had the answer for.
But nothing lit the lamp.
"We are obviously disappointed, like I'm not going to stand here and say that we are happy and thrilled, but we're still in a good spot being on the inside (of the playoff line)," said Dubois. "We could be on the outside looking in. We could be the team that played one more game right now and is still tied. The tiebreaker for us is better and we have a game in hand."

Dubois is right. The Jets have to use the next two days to regroup and refocus for another big tilt against the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
Wins take care of everything, and they know the steps to be at their best.
"Every time it seemed like we could get something going, we took a penalty and then you've got to start all over again. That's not how we want to play," said Bowness. "Stay out of the box, let's play five-on-five, and let's play a lot faster."
While the Jets have a change or two to make, they hope for the exact same thing from the crowd against the Predators.
"If it's like that the rest of the way I've got a good feeling about how our team game will be at home," said Schmidt. "It's what it always comes down to. It's the reason that you're grinding for the whole year."