- Jets lose 6-4 in Tampa for a seventh straight defeat
- Stuart Skinner is pulled after five goals and Nico Daws debuts in relief
- Read below for the line shuffle and what Scott Arniel said afterward
The Winnipeg Jets can’t find a win, and the goaltending change didn’t fix it.
Winnipeg fell 6-4 to the Lightning on Thursday night in Tampa, its seventh straight loss. Stuart Skinner allowed five goals on 21 shots and got the hook after two periods, and Nico Daws made his Jets debut in the third.
Daws stopped all nine shots he faced. He arrived from New Jersey last week in the Connor Hellebuyck trade along with Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, and Mercer picked up an assist for his first point as a Jet.
The Jets are 0-5-2 over their last seven games and sit at 4-6-3. Their last win came Oct. 13, and they’ve now lost three straight in regulation since the Hellebuyck deal. The power play went 0-for-2 and is 0-for-16 across its last six games, and Winnipeg has given up the first goal in five straight.
Tampa made its move in the second period, scoring four times, three of them in the last four minutes. Brandon Hagel capitalized on a Jets turnover for the third of those. Check out Hagel’s goal:
Head coach Scott Arniel split up Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele for the first time this season, moving Connor to the second line and Gabriel Vilardi up to the top unit. Scheifele answered with three assists after going four games without a point.
Arniel was asked about the second period, and he wasn’t happy with it.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” Arniel said. “Again, a three-minute span in the second period we gave up the three goals. And that’s, you’re a pro hockey player, that’s professionalism. You have a job to do, and staying focused and doing it.”
Winnipeg trailed 5-1 after two periods, then scored three times in the third to make it a one-goal game. Dylan Samberg, Pionk and Connor all scored in the final frame, and Neal Pionk finished with two goals in his 600th NHL game. Tampa’s Pontus Holmberg sealed it with an empty-netter.
Connor said the team was flat early and needed a spark.
“We just weren’t sharp in all areas,” Connor said. “Power play, PK, 5-on-5, it was just a little flat. We needed a little bit of jam, and I think that’s kinda what led to success in the third.”
Holmberg had the big night, with a goal and three assists for a career-high four points. Take a look at how Tampa’s night went:
The Lightning are 8-3-1 and a perfect 6-0 at home, which ties a franchise record to start a season.
Connor spoke about the Hellebuyck trade last week, and you can read his reaction in our Kyle Connor story. The Jets get another shot at ending the skid in their next game.
