The Winnipeg Jets will not have a long wait to try starting another winning streak when they play host to the Calgary Flames on Friday.
Winnipeg had a six-game run snapped with a 3-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday to kick off a three-game homestand.
It was an inglorious result for a team that has tallied four or more goals in four of seven outings this season.
“We had a lot of chances to score goals,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “I know there was probably seven or eight quality ones where the goalie made the stop or we just missed. That’s how it goes with bounces.”
Considering it was their first defeat since the season opener, the Jets have no reason to panic. They dominated the third period but couldn’t find the equalizer before the Kraken scored a pair of empty-net goals with less than two minutes remaining.
In fact, Arniel said his team played better than it did in a 2-1 win at Calgary on Monday.
The Jets expect the loss to be a reminder how they must have more urgency to light the lamp and control a game from start to finish.
“Simplicity is usually the answer,” Winnipeg defenseman Neal Pionk said. “When something like this happens … making the extra pass or extra seam pass, it usually doesn’t work. So, (on Friday), I’m sure the shot mindset will be there and we’ll be crashing the net.”
The Flames arrive in Winnipeg on the heels of a 2-1 overtime loss to the Canadiens on Wednesday in Montreal.
Since opening the season with a victory, Calgary has dropped seven consecutive games, the first six of those in regulation. The Flames scored one goal in each of their past four outings.
The Flames, who sit last in the league standings and are at or near the bottom in myriad categories, are battling through the frustration of a horrid start to the campaign.
“It’s not going to help us coming in every day feeling sorry for ourselves and feeling down. Bad energy spreads pretty quickly in the room,” captain Mikael Backlund said after practice on Thursday. “It’s a privilege to play in the NHL, so we’ve got to come in every day and enjoy being an NHL player. … But when we get out of this, we’ll be even stronger.”
While they are in the throes of a skid, the Flames can build on their performances in the past few outings. A case could be made that Calgary deserved to win the past two games, including the clash with the Jets earlier this week, but the Flames’ inability to score proved costly.
The Flames have scored two or fewer goals in all but one outing, their victory, and they have managed 13 goals total in eight games. As a team, their shooting percentage is 5.6%, by far the worst in the league.
“You have to have a shot to break a team down,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said. “When you’re not scoring, there’s a tendency to look for something better all the time.”
