Jets fall in seesaw battle with Maple Leafs

WINNIPEG – One two-goal deficit wasn’t enough to keep the Winnipeg Jets down on Thursday night, but when they faced another – try as they did – they just couldn’t get back on even footing.

Goals from Mark Scheifele and Andrew Copp erased an early 2-0 deficit before the end of the opening period, but the Toronto Maple Leafs wouldn’t be denied, as they built up a 4-2 lead at Bell MTS Place before finishing the seesaw affair with an empty netter to seal a 5-3 victory in Winnipeg.

Kyle Connor had the other goal for the Jets in the loss, which drops Winnipeg six points back of Toronto in the North Division.

“Definitely not the start we wanted, but we kept on clawing back and tried to get some chances,” said Scheifele, who led Jets forwards with 23:29 of ice time. “We fought right to the end and made it a close one. It would have been nice to get that one into overtime.”

Coming off four days of rest, the Jets didn’t get the start they were looking for, as the Maple Leafs built a 2-0 lead just 78 seconds into the game.

First, Auston Matthews wired home his 34th of the season – the result of a wrist shot from the left wing off the rush – 27 seconds into the contest. Then, Wayne Simmonds sent home a backhand from the slot that beat Connor Hellebuyck on the stick side.

“We hadn’t played a game in four days. It’s tough to do, just to come out and pick right up where you left off,” said Blake Wheeler, who made his return to the line-up after missing six games with a concussion. “So it took us a period to get into it. I thought the back half of the game we played a pretty good game but unfortunately it was just too far out of reach for us.”

Video: POSTGAME | Mark Scheifele

Scheifele pulled the Jets back within one just a couple minutes later, though. He went straight for the front of the net as the Jets made a change. Copp held the puck below the goal line before feeding it in front, where Scheifele banged home his 18th of the season to make it 2-1.

Copp then tied things up with his 15th of the season when he tucked home a loose puck in the crease, which came from Mason Appleton’s attempted cross crease pass that Jack Campbell got a piece of. 

It gave Copp his 10th multi-point game of the season, and while it didn’t necessarily erase the start the Jets had – it did speak to the character of the team.

“I mean, I would change it if I could. But there’s things that are going to happen to you in the year and it’s more the personality of the group being able to respond to those things that happen to you,” said Copp. “The makeup and character and personality of the room, of our team, is more important than the a one-off bad start.”

Video: POSTGAME | Andrew Copp  

The scoring wasn’t done though, as Jason Spezza beat Hellebuyck with a deflection of Joe Thornton’s shot from the point on a delayed penalty, putting Toronto back on top 3-2.

That was the end of the night for Hellebuyck, who was pulled for the second time this season.

“I didn’t like the first two, I didn’t think the third one was a whole lot better for him and I was looking to change momentum,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “They didn’t run all over us. They got two pucks to the net that we didn’t like. Certainly we weren’t better than they were, but I don’t know how much better they were than us.”

Mitch Marner’s one-timer with 7:02 left in the second period restored Toronto’s two-goal cushion, making it 4-2. That was the only puck to beat Laurent Brossoit, who finished with 25 saves.

The Jets continued to work. This time, with 2:04 to go in the middle stanza, Connor’s wrist shot from the left circle squeezed through Campbell. Connor’s team-leading 22nd of the season pulled the Jets back to within a goal.

Video: TOR@WPG: Connor’s quick release cuts deficit to 4-3

With an assist on the Connor goal, Scheifele now has 300 assists in his NHL career.

“We have the faith in our room to know that we don’t have to chase it and do it all in one shift,” said Scheifele. “To get pucks deep, to come back with speed, you create turnovers and get some odd-man rushes and like I said, we got our chances, but we just weren’t able to pop one home.”

Winnipeg kept the pressure up in the final period, outshooting Toronto 14-11, and generating chances throughout the final 20 minutes. Pierre-Luc Dubois even had a partial break but couldn’t beat Campbell with a deke to the backhand.

“I liked Dubois’s line, I thought that was his best game as a Jet,” said Maurice. “Four shots, seven shot attempts, big, physical and going to the net. Lots of good there.” 

The two teams meet in a rematch on Saturday, their second last meeting of the season.