The Winnipeg Jets are in a tailspin, having lost five of their past six with the latest defeat coming Monday in a 5-1 blowout against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Jets entered the game having just snapped a four-game losing skid with a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators but found themselves in a 2-0 just three minutes and one second into Monday’s contest and were never able to dig out of that hole.
“It’s pretty disappointing, that effort after playing a pretty good game in Nashville,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said postgame. “Obviously, three minutes into the game you’re down 2-0. We gave up nine rush chances; they scored four goals off the rush. … Kicked ourselves on that one. We gave up all those rush opportunities and they capitalized on it.”
Kyle Connor scored the lone goal for the Jets Monday with the loss dropping the team to 13-12-0 on the season. Winnipeg is now 2-5 since losing No. 1 goalie Connor Hellebuyck to a knee procedure and have fallen out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
“It’s not going to be just a flip of a switch and we’re going to all of a sudden be back playing the right way,” Connor said. “It’s going to be hard work, having our assignments, everyone doing the right job, relying on each other. If one or two guys are doing the right job, it’s not going to be good enough. We need everyone playing as five, as a unit.”
Eric Comrie has seen six of the seven starts since Hellebuyck was shut down and saw his record drop to 5-5-0 on the season with Monday’s loss. The 30-year-old netminder has a .893 save percentage and a 3.13 goals-against average.
Thomas Milic is currently serving as Comrie’s backup and has seen one start, allowing four goals on 34 shots in a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes last week. Milic, 22, entered in relief of Comrie on Monday and allowed two goals on 17 shots over the final 20 minutes of play.
Hellebuyck had an 8-6-0 record with a .913 save percentage and 2.51 GAA before being placed on injured reserve. The 32-year-old goaltender was given a timeline of four-to-six weeks for recovery on Nov. 21.
The Jets will visit the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday in the last of a five-game road trip before returning to Winnipeg to host the Sabres on Friday.