SUNRISE, Fla. — Tyrel Bauer looked like hell.
It had nothing to do with his swollen, puffy face that absorbed several big blows in an epic heavyweight tilt a couple hours earlier.
No, it was the pain of losing yet another hockey game — the eighth straight for his club — which had clearly left an even bigger mark on the Winnipeg Jets rookie as he spoke with the Free Press outside the team’s dressing room at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday night.
“It’s hard. It’s hard. I know I’m new here, but eight games is … that’s a number that just can’t happen,” said Bauer, who was the captain of his junior team and is as thoughtful and well-spoken as they come.
“We’re better than what we’re showing in there. We can compete harder than what we’re showing in there.”
A 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers followed a similar script to so many over the past couple weeks. Some decent spurts of five-on-five play and goaltending undone by disastrous special teams and costly, self-inflicted errors.
There’s a dark cloud hovering above this Jets team, not to mention a foreboding sense of deja vu — especially for players who were part of last year’s franchise-record 11-game winless streak that destroyed the entire campaign.
Rebecca Blackwell / The Associated Press
Florida Panthers goaltender Akira Schmid stops a shot by Winnipeg Jets centre Mark Scheifele in the first period of the Panthers 5-2 win in Florida, Friday.
“The feelings are similar in the sense of you try to come to the rink and enjoy yourself and go out there and have fun, but it’s really difficult right now,” said Jets forward Morgan Barron.
“We’ve got to stop the bleeding at some point, and I don’t really think there’s moral victories right now.”
The Jets, who raced out to a 3-0-1 start, are now 4-7-3 and sinking to near the bottom of the NHL standings once again.
“We came out and we battled. That one was a lot closer to how we need to play for 60 minutes,” said head coach Scott Arniel. “But now we’ve got to get over the hump, find a way. Keep that work ethic, keep that compete going and then find a way to get the two points.”
FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS
Bauer got the night started with a bang, dropping the gloves with Florida enforcer Bokondji Imama early in the first period.
It was not for the faint of heart, with both trading heavy shots for nearly a full minute. It was a follow-up to an epic bout they had a couple years ago in the American Hockey League which became a viral social media video.
“It’s a part of my game. I want to play hockey. I want to prove that I can play at this level as well, but at the same time, that’s a piece that’s always gonna be there. It’s no different for him, I’m assuming,” said Bauer. “You’re doing it for that crest and for the guys in the room. I mean, eight games in a row. We need to make a statement. Need to do something.”
Judges would probably have given the decision to Bauer, who burst on to the scene earlier this month by fighting Mark Kastelic in his NHL debut then Keegan Kolesar in his second game, and scoring big wins in the process.
Bauer showed he can do more than just scrap as Arniel opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defencemen — then used Bauer for an occasional shift as a forward on the fourth line. One strong sequence in the second period led to him, Cole Koepke and Barron drawing a power play with a heavy forecheck.
“Anything, anytime. I’ve said that my whole career, my whole life — they wanted me to play forward,” said Bauer. “I haven’t done that too many times before, so figuring it out but at the end of the day we need to win some hockey games.”
SCARY STUFF
You might want to hide the children the next time the Jets get a power play or go on the penalty kill.
Because it truly has become a gruesome horror show.
Rebecca Blackwell / The Associated Press
Panthers defenceman Radko Gudas takes the puck away from Jets centre Morgan Barron in the first period.
Sure, the Jets managed to snap a 0-for-17 skid with the man advantage, as Kyle Connor scored a beauty in the second period, his team-leading 11th goal of the season. But it came with the Jets on a two minute five-on-three advantage, and with six seconds left.Winnipeg whiffed on three other chances on the night.
Florida struck twice on the power play, after potting three against the Jets in Tuesday’s 5-1 victory in Winnipeg.
The Jets are ranked 22nd overall on the power play and 23rd on the penalty kill this year.
“I’m kind of at a loss for it. I think there’s a ton of emphasis on it,” Barron said of the leaky PK.
“There’s been meetings. We’ve talked about it as players. We’ve talked about it with the coaches. Kind of just getting beat in different ways, and you can chalk some of them up to bad luck. But at the end of the day, we’re not getting the results. It’s just on us as players to find a way to make a difference.”
SALT, MEET WOUND
It’s well known Florida tried to trade for Connor Hellebuyck over the summer, but weren’t willing to part with young centre Anton Lundell as part of the return.
The same Lundell, we should note, who scored a hat trick on Friday, with the final one coming into an empty net.
Meanwhile, Hellebuyck improved to 2-0-0 for the New Jersey Devils, with wins in Dallas and now Vegas. He’s stopped 36 of 39 shots.
Goalie Nico Daws, obtained in the deal with the Devils, made his first start for the Jets and stopped 33 of 37 shots. Daws had made his debut a night earlier, relieving Stuart Skinner for the third period of a 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay and turning aside all 10 pucks that came his way.
Rebecca Blackwell / The Associated Press
Florida Panthers defenceman Dmitry Kuliko passes the puck under pressure from Winnipeg Jets left wing Alex Iafallo during the first period.
Forward Dawson Mercer, also part of the trade, recorded an assist Friday for the second straight game by setting up Barron for his first goal of the year near the midway mark of the third period, which made it a 3-2 game only for Florida to respond a few minutes later.
“It was great to kind of get us back in the game and bring it back to within one, but that kind of dissipates pretty quickly. Not much feels too good right now,” said Barron.
“We’re trying to get out of this slump, and obviously these points are really important. This isn’t the direction we want our season to go. I don’t think it’s the direction we think our season should go. So we’re just kind of going to strap up and figure it out.”
KEY PLAY: You could see this coming a mile away. The Jets, with a chance to tie on the power play late in the second period, come up empty. Seconds later, Barron takes a tripping penalty. And, in the blink of an eye, Seth Jones converted on the ensuing man advantage to make it a 3-1 game.
THREE STARS:
1. FLA C Anton Lundell: 3 goals
2. FLA D Seth Jones: 1 goal, 2 assists
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3. FLA C Sam Reinhart: 1 goal, 1 assist
EXTRA, EXTRA: It was a big night for Mark Grehan, Winnipeg’s assistant equipment manager, who celebrated his 1,500th NHL game. The Ontario product first came to town in 2010 to serve as head equipment manager for the Manitoba Moose. He was promoted to the big leagues the following year as the 2.0 Jets were born and has been here since.
Winnipeg’s healthy scratches were forwards Brad Lambert and Nino Niederreiter and goaltender Clay Stevenson. Defenceman Josh Morrissey and forward Vlad Namestnikov remain on injured reserve.
The Jets flew to Raleigh, N.C., after the game and will take Saturday off. They return to action Sunday afternoon against the Carolina Hurricanes, who beat them 3-2 in Winnipeg earlier this month. The road trip concludes Tuesday night in Montreal in a rematch of Sunday’s Heritage Classic, won 2-1 by the Canadiens.
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Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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