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![\"Utah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/3839975_web1_ab8d49dba4e3411ca6ab36a57ba9785b.jpg\")
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Utah Mammoth left wing Lawson Crouse, front, fights for the puck against Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley (64) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (Melissa Majchrzak \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a case of hopefully you go out and do the right things and get a chance to get the next group out there,\u201d Arniel explained afterwards of using Lowry, along with Gabe Vilardi and Neal Pionk.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lowry lost the draw to Clayton Keller, left his feet to try and pokecheck the puck away but missed, then watched the younger, speedier Dylan Guenther blow by him \u2014 an attempted bodycheck missed badly \u2014 and feed Keller for the winner on the ensuing 2-on-1.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just starts leaving my feet, you know, trying to whack that puck and just get a better angle,\u201d Lowry said of the sequence of doom.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe kind of victimized me in the first period. A little different, five-on-five, but he comes with a head of steam, you get caught flat-footed, and you kind of guess. I know they\u2019re highly skilled players. You know, that one sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a struggle for Lowry to get back up to speed, figuratively and literally, following offseason hip surgery. The 32-year-old hasn\u2019t produced much offence, with just one goal and four assists in 23 games, but you know it really stings when his normally stellar defensive work comes into question.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg has now lost 17 of its past 23 games (6-14-3) and sits at a woeful 15-17-3 overall. They are just one point out of the NHL basement and six points out of the final Western Conference wildcard spot \u2014 currently held by 18-17-3 Utah \u2014 just a season removed from having the best regular-season record in the league. They are in a world of hurt.<\/p>\n
IT\u2019S NOT JUST HOW YOU FINISH, BUT ALSO HOW YOU START: Sure, the final painful play by Lowry will be discussed and dissected by fans for days. But a valid argument could be made that the Jets actually lost the game a lot earlier in the night.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Utah Mammoth center Barrett Hayton, right, fights for the puck against Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo, left, during the first periody. (Melissa Majchrzak \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n Once again, this was a team that says one thing \u2014 get off to a strong start, stay out of the penalty box, play good defence, find ways to score \u2014 and then comes out and does the polar opposite.<\/p>\n They looked disorganized. Disinterested, even. And they were on the verge of disaster as Utah grabbed a 1-0 lead barely five minutes into the game, added a second goal before the midway mark and then grabbed what looked like a commanding three-goal lead just 3:01 into the second stanza.<\/p>\n Arniel was struggling to hide his anger.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was, again, another real\u2026 What\u2019s the right adjective here? That first period was ugly. It was really ugly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done it in this building before. Certainly, Utah brings out the worst in us. That\u2019s a bad start by everybody and it just got us behind the eight ball and then we\u2019re chasing the game.\u201d<\/p>\n The same questions keep getting asked of players \u2014 why do you guys keep starting games so slowly? \u2014 and, to date, nobody has come up with a reasonable answer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about finding that consistently, finding that compete every night. Start to finish, not when we get down 3-0 or 3-1 in games,\u201d said Lowry. \u201cBut, from the get-go. And that starts with me.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Utah Mammoth center Kevin Stenlund (82) fights for the puck against Winnipeg Jets center Cole Perfetti (91) and center Vladislav Namestnikov (7) during the first period. (Melissa Majchrzak \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n Added Connor: \u201cWe\u2019ll look for a solution over the break. That\u2019s obviously a focal point for us coming into the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n DON\u2019T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Did Utah just get a little too comfortable with its big league, especially against a team that isn\u2019t exactly scaring anyone these days, and take the foot off the gas? Or did the Jets start to play the way they say they are capable of?<\/p>\n Perhaps a bit of both.<\/p>\n Connor cut the deficit to 3-1 at 11:18 of the second period when he ripped a perfect one-timer past Karel Vejmelka with his team on the power play. Scheifele and Vilardi had the assists.<\/p>\n It was a magical marker for Connor \u2014 the 300th of his career.<\/p>\n \u201cPretty cool milestone,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce you look back on your career that\u2019s the kind of stuff you\u2019ll remember. But right now it\u2019s focus on winning and trying to be the best player I can and help out. So it doesn\u2019t really mean much right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Connor struck again with just under five minutes left in regulation, this time wiring a feed from Morrissey. Just like that, the Jets had a pulse. Connor is now tied with Scheifele for the team lead with 17 goals.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Hearts really got racing 25 seconds later when Morgan Barron used his speed to get in behind the Mammoth defence, taking a pass from Tanner Pearson and beating Vejmelka with a snap shot to tie it up.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got better in the second, certainly dominated in the third. But at the end of the day, you can\u2019t play two periods in this league and look to have success,\u201d said Arniel.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s 35 games, for me, of inconsistency throughout the games themselves or that might be individual players. In the remaining 47, that has to change.\u201d<\/p>\n Arniel said a significant factor in his overtime deployment was trying to give Scheifele, Connor and Morrissey an extra minute or two to catch their breath.<\/p>\n \u201cI rode them pretty hard right down to the last shift (of the third period),\u201d he said. \u201cIt was more of a case of Low, start with the puck, win the draw. Hopefully that was the scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n KEY PLAY: The lost faceoff by Lowry and the series of events that followed proved to be the difference.<\/p>\n THREE STARS:<\/p>\n 1. UTAH RW Clayton Keller: 1 goal, 1 assist<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Winnipeg Jets players celebrate after a goal against the Utah Mammoth during the third period. (Melissa Majchrzak \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n 2. WPG LW Kyle Connor: 2 goals<\/p>\n 3. UTAH RW Dylan Guenther: 2 assists<\/p>\n EXTRA, EXTRA: Connor Hellebuyck made his fifth straight start, all over the past nine days, since returning from arthroscopic knee surgery. Although his numbers in this one don\u2019t look too pretty \u2014 22 shots, 18 saves \u2014 it\u2019s hard to fault him on any. Vejmelka, who always seems to give the Jets fits, stopped 23 of 26 shots he faced.<\/p>\n Winnipeg went 1-for-3 on the power play and killed off all three penalties they took.<\/p>\n The Jets made one lineup change, with defenceman Colin Miller replacing Haydn Fleury. Forward Cole Koepke and blue-liner Luke Schenn were the other healthy scratches.<\/p>\n Arniel started the game with Gustav Nyquist on the top line with Scheifele and Connor, but abandoned that plan after just one unsuccessful period. Nyquist still has yet to score a goal, with just seven assists in 26 games.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t Several other Jets forwards are ice cold as well including Jonathan Toews (one assist in 19 games), Vlad Namestnikov (one assist in 23 games), Nino Niederreiter (no points in 11 games) and Cole Perfetti (2 goals in 21 games).<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk (4) and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) stop the puck against the Utah Mammoth during the third period. (Melissa Majchrzak \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n The Jets return to action on Saturday when they host the Minnesota Wild.<\/p>\n \u201cGo do what you have to do with family,\u201d Arniel said when asked what his holiday message is to his players.<\/p>\n \u201cEnjoy your time and do some inner soul searching here and recognize that we\u2019re not going to be successful and we\u2019re not going to get ourselves back in the race unless each and every individual there takes this up another notch. Clear your mind, clear your head and get yourself ready to go for the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWinnipeg Jets center Gabriel Vilardi (13) fights in front of the Utah Mammoth goal against Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (98) during the third period. (Melissa Majchrzak \/ The Associated Press)<\/p>\n
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