Jets late push comes up short against Oilers

At the end of the night on Friday, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby wasn't thrilled with the Winnipeg Jets (35-25-2) discipline against the Edmonton Oilers and their top ranked power play.
"How many did we have? Nine?" Jonsson-Fjallby asked rhetorically. "It's hard to win a hockey game."
Even with Winnipeg's second-ranked penalty kill, the Oilers went 2-for-9 on the man advantage and beat the Jets 6-3.
But it wasn't just those special teams opportunities that had the Jets frustrated with their performance. Head coach Rick Bowness felt the Jets were off from the start of the game.
"We weren't very good on the details at all in the faceoffs and we weren't moving our feet at all," said Bowness. "When you get outworked like they did and you don't pay attention to the details and you don't compete hard enough, then you end up looking bad."

Jonsson-Fjallby had a goal and an assist in the game, with Mark Scheifele and Brenden Dillon also finding the back of the net for the Jets. All of Winnipeg's offence came in the third period, but by then, the game was out of hand.
"They stopped playing a little bit," said Bowness. "We made them look a whole lot better than they are. They're a very good team, there's no question about that, but my point is we made it very easy for them to play their game."
Edmonton's top-ranked power play took advantage of its first chance early in the first. Morgan Barron's clearing attempt was kept alive by Evan Bouchard at the blue line, and eventually Ryan Nugent-Hopkins spotted Leon Draisaitl at the bottom of the right circle, and Draisaitl snapped home his 37th of the season just 2:06 into the first to make it 1-0.
But the NHL's second-best penalty kill answered back to keep the deficit at one. The Jets had to kill off a Kevin Stenlund double-minor after that, and then a Nikolaj Ehlers tripping penalty as the first period expired.

Unfortunately for the Jets, Edmonton made it 2-0 at even strength 1:44 into the second. Nugent-Hopkins continued his career season by picking off an errant pass and snapping home his 29th of the campaign - a new personal best - beating Connor Hellebuyck low on the stick side.
Edmonton added another two goals in a 40-second span, both coming off the stick off Kailer Yamamoto. First, after a Jets two-on-one was broken up, Yamamoto took a stretch pass and beat Hellebuyck with a deke to the backhand. Then, with 10:02 remaining in the second, Yamamoto pounced on a loose puck after a scramble in front of the Jets net and sent his eighth of the season into an open net.
"We have to take a lot more pride in our ability to defend, which we were doing for most of the season," said Bowness of the Jets, who have given up 21 goals in their last four games. "(It's) not nearly where it needs to be."
That was the end of the night for Hellebuyck, who made 20 saves on 24 shots through 40 minutes of play.

Edmonton made it 5-0 on a power play early in the third, as Nugent-Hopkins notched his second of the game - reaching the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career.
"I haven't coached a team, I think, that was so undsicplined and took so many penalties," said Bowness. "So, (if) you play a third of the game shorthanded, they're going to make you look bad - and they made us look bad."
Winnipeg's broke Stuart Skinner's shutout bid with 13:38 to go in the third, as Jonsson-Fjallby beat the Oilers netminder for his fifth goal of the season. David Gustafsson - playing in his first game since January 10 - picked up an assist on the play.
"That's what we said before the third. Go out there and try our best, and try to bring that for tomorrow," said Jonsson-Fjallby. "The third period was a little better, but overall it's not a good game."

Draisaitl recorded his second of the game on a delayed penalty to make it 6-1, but the Jets responded with two goals in 1:06.
A Scheifele one-timer from the bottom of the left circle gave Scheifele 35 goals on the season, with Nino Niederreiter picking up the primary assist - his first point as a member of the Jets.
Then, Dillon tallied his second goal of the season with 7:05 remaining, a shot from the slot that beat Skinner on the stick side.
The two teams face off again on Saturday night at Canada Life Centre. Bowness was unsure about whether the team's newest addition - Vladislav Namestnikov - would be ready to make his debut or not.
"He hasn't skated in a couple of days," said Bowness. "He's flying in tonight. I'll talk to him in the morning, see how he's doing."