Winnipeg Jets posted their third straight loss on the road. This time Paul Maurice’s team suffered a defeat against Carolina Hurricanes, 1-4, extending the negative trend of performances, as they now have five failures in the recent six contests.
Though Maurice didn’t have anything to say to his players, as they played solid, but simply, things didn’t go their way.
“They played hard,” Winnipeg’s coach said. “I haven’t liked some of our games, but that team played as hard as they could. I have no beef on the effort.”
When they had a massive swing in the second frame, Petr Mrazek made several big-time saves. Hurricanes’ goalie absorbed this push of the guests and pretty much determined the final result, killing the morale of the Jets. He had seven saves, and also, the home team’s defense blocked eight shots, holding a 3-1 lead from the opening third.
“The second period I thought we were the better team, and we couldn’t get one to go,” said Blake Wheeler. “We get one of those chances to go in the second, (it’s a) different hockey game.”
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes had a 38-year old Justin Williams who played only his second game this season. But that wasn’t noticed the way he played. Williams had two goals and was a problem for the Jets’ defense all the time.
His first goal five and a half minutes inside the first period, once he just redirected Teuvo Teravainen’s pass into Connor Hellebuyck‘s net. It was during a power-play and after 18 straight PP situations, the Hurricane’s finally managed to score. The streak lasted for nine games.
Williams’ added another goal to his account, and that was the one which closed the event, at 9:13 of the last quarter. This one came following Andrei Svechnikov’s assist. Even though many praised the way he played after a long pause, the 19-year veteran didn’t want all the spotlights on him but decided to give credit to his teammates.
“I was the beneficiary of a couple of really great passes,” he said. “I’m feeling comfortable. I’m feeling better than I did the last game.”
Williams signed a one-year deal for $700,000 on January 7, deciding to come back and play another season for a team with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2006. And on the night of his debut, last Sunday, he netted a game-winner against the New York Islanders.
Other two goals for the home team were delivered by Teuvo Teravainen and Martin Necas, while on the other side, the only scorer for the Jets was
Patrick Lane.
Up next, Winnipeg (25-21-4) travels to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets, before coming back home for a meeting with the Boston Bruins. It will start the period in which the Jets play nine of their next 10 matches at home.
As for the Hurricanes (29-18-3), they have two more games after this on home soil, the first one versus Vegas Golden Knights, and the second against Vancouver Canucks.
