The Winnipeg Jets did not have to wait long for a chance to exact some revenge on the Philadelphia Flyers.
Five days after losing at home against Philadelphia, the suddenly skidding Jets visit the Flyers on Thursday.
In the Saturday matchup at Winnipeg, the Jets received a first-period goal from Mark Scheifele, who leads the team with 34 tallies. Jamie Drysdale drew the Flyers even in the second, causing a deadlock that did not get resolved until Philadelphia prevailed in a shootout.
Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov netted the decisive goal in the skills contest on a nifty forehand-to-backhand move against Connor Hellebuyck. Ivan Fedotov did stellar work on the other end, stopping all three shootout attempts after making 29 saves during regulation and overtime.
“He takes up a lot of the net,” Scheifele said postgame of the 6-foot-7 Fedotov. “Makes it look really tough to find a hole. He made some big saves tonight and kept them in it.”
Flyers coach John Tortorella might turn to Fedotov again Thursday after Samuel Ersson struggled mightily on Tuesday in a 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames. Ersson allowed three goals on five shots before giving way to Fedotov, who stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced.
Still, Fedotov’s solid work in relief wasn’t enough to prevent the Flyers from losing in regulation for the first time since the 4 Nations Face-Off. The team had been 4-0-1 in its previous five outings.
“Tough in any game going down,” Philadelphia’s Noah Cates said after his side allowed four first-period goals. “Building’s quiet, just not finding any area of our game. (Defensive) zone, neutral zone, offensive zone, we couldn’t seem to find some traction.”
If the Flyers do go back to Ersson on Thursday, they expect him to play like a No. 1 goaltender like he has for much of this season.
“He’s been steady,” Philadelphia winger Travis Konecny said. “He’s the reason we’ve been able to stay in the race for the playoffs. (We have) all the confidence in him.”
Winnipeg is hoping to bounce back from a disappointing result as well — a few disappointing results, in fact. The Jets have lost three games in a row (0-2-1), marking just the second time that has happened since early December.
“Out of those three games, when you look at this one as a whole, you can take some positives,” captain Adam Lowry said after the Jets’ 3-2 road loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
That said, Winnipeg has scored only four goals in the past three games. Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey tallied in the Tuesday setback.
“We’re in the funk right now when it comes to scoring goals,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “And, you know, teams go through these. You look around the league, a lot’s happened in different spots.”
To counteract their offensive struggles, the Jets could use a dominant performance by Hellebuyck, who has been steady of late but has not posted a shutout since Jan. 11. The Vezina Trophy favorite leads the league with six shutouts, a 2.01 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.
“Just got to stay with it,” Arniel said. “For us, it’s making sure that we’re defending well. We’ve got to win these games 1-0. We’ll have to work to do that. But at the end of the day, I like that effort.”
–Field Level Media
