The Winnipeg Jets were fresh off of a 6-4 win against the Florida Panthers in their home opener on Saturday, Oct. 14, and a rematch with PL Dubois and the Los Angeles Kings was next on the schedule. The Jets fell well short of their opponents on this night, losing by a score of 5-1.
Related: 3 Takeaways from Jets’ 6-4 Win Against Panthers
This game got away from the Jets after Gabriel Vilardi left the game with a right knee injury, halting all of the momentum the Jets had previously had. Here are a few takeaways from the Jets’ biggest loss of the season up until this point.
The team announced an attendance of 11,226. That’s 4095 empty seats from the 15,321 capacity inside Canada Life Centre. That is a topic for another time, but for now, let’s focus on the Jets’ 5-1 loss on Tuesday night.
Connor Hellebuyck Has Struggled to Start the Season
The Jets have now given up five, four, and five goals in the three games to begin the season, leaving Connor Hellebuyck with a goals-against average (GAA) of 4.38 and a save percentage (SV%) of .843%. Hellebuyck is an incredibly safe bet to bounce back from these early-season struggles, but fresh off of his seven-year extension, the puck hasn’t been bouncing his way to begin the 2023-24 campaign.
Rick Bowness defended his goaltender in the post-game press conference, stating “I don’t blame Helle(Buyck), we’ve got to give him some run support early and we didn’t. We should’ve come out of that first period like 2-1 or something, and to not score, that hurt us a bit.”
Bowness was right to mention what it “should” have been after one period when looking at expected goals (xG) numbers from Natural Stat Trick, the Jets had plenty of jump to their game when looking at puck possession and shot quality, as they racked up 1.72 expected goals to the Kings’ 0.67. The Jets were unable to finish their chances as the game progressed, as Cam Talbot racked up 26 saves on 27 shots.
Gabriel Vilardi’s Injury Could Shake Up The Forward Group
Vilardi went down with a right knee injury midway through the first period, and Bowness was unable to provide an update post-game. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow, and we are likely to get an update after the Jets practice on Oct. 18th.
If he is out for any amount of time, whether that be short or long-term, the Jets are going to have to shake up their forward group and power play. It was a healthy rotation on the wing of Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele in this game, but going forward, Nikolaj Ehlers could fill that void on what has been a red-hot top line to begin the season. Ehlers was bumped up to the top power-play unit, which was a spot that was previously filled by Vilardi. Ehlers has gone scoreless through three games to begin the season, but he projects to be the best option to fill in offensively.
In terms of this game and whether or not the injury impacted team morale, Ehlers said “I want to say no, because you want to be in the right mindset, but every time a teammate goes down, it sucks. Gabe is a guy that has been through a lot, and I know exactly how that feels.”
In what was a “revenge” game for Vilardi against his old team, it was an unfortunate and early exit, and the hope for the Jets is that this is a short-term injury. On the opposite side of that deal, Dubois scored his first goal as a Los Angeles King to open the scoring in this one, as the crowd booed him consistently throughout the night.
Cole Perfetti On the Receiving End of Another Dirty Hit
This seems to be a theme, doesn’t it? Cole Perfetti was on the receiving end of another hit-from-behind, one that saw the Jets end up short-handed due to Dylan Samberg initiating a fight to defend his teammate. Perfetti was asked about it post-game, and he shared his thoughts.
“I thought I had established my numbers to him, had my back to him. Couple feet away from the boards, and whatever happens happens, and it’s a fast game, and it sucks. My face is smeared against the boards and I feel like I’m pretty defenceless. Just trying to get the puck in deep, I’m not much of a threat there.”
Cole Perfetti
On a night when Vilardi left the game and did not return, seeing Perfetti take this hit was a nail-biting moment for Jets fans, but he was able to pop up and play the rest of the night. Health was a major key to this team sustaining success, and with Perfetti missing the majority of the past two seasons, staying healthy is proving to be more and more critical for him not only for this season but for his development as a player.
The Jets have one game remaining on their three-game home stand against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. The biggest storyline is obviously Vilardi’s health, but the Jets getting back on track and avoiding a 1-3 start is going to be at the forefront of fans inside the building.