Both the Winnipeg Jets and the visiting Ottawa Senators will try to bounce back from losses when they meet on Tuesday.
Winnipeg lost 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday, letting a 2-1 lead slip away in the third period.
“We were half a step behind physically, and then mentally we complicated the game a little bit,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “When we do that, you’re on your heels a little too much. … We got it right down to the last five minutes. You hope at that point you can find a way to hang on, and we didn’t.”
The loss comes at a time when the team has been dealing with a difficult batch of injuries.
Blake Wheeler and Nate Schmidt are both out for at least a month, while there are still ongoing long-term injuries to Mason Appleton and Nikolaj Ehlers.
Ottawa has been healthier but is also coming off a loss after a 4-2 setback against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
In that loss the Senators tried to rally in the third period, but an early 3-0 hole was too much to come back from against the Wild.
“We didn’t score on our chances, and then they get the same chance and they score,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “Whether the goalie made a save or bounce, whatever the case may be, those gotta go in the net. We come out, scored, maybe it’s a different game, but at the end of the day, we still shot ourselves in the foot with two bad turnovers that end up in our net.
“You’re down 3-0 on the road, it’s tough to win.”
Before that loss Ottawa had been rolling, winning four in a row — including a convincing 6-3 victory against the Detroit Red Wings.
Winnipeg had a two-game win streak going before it was handed a defeat by Seattle.
The Jets will likely turn back to starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck after giving backup goalie David Rittich the start against Minnesota. Hellebuyck has established himself as an early MVP candidate; he entered Monday with 24 games played, tied for most among NHL goalies, and is third in the league for save percentage (.928) among qualified goalies.
The Senators have been a goalie-by-committee system this season and will likely turn to Cam Talbot after starting Anton Forsberg in the loss to Minnesota. Talbot has been the slightly better goalie statistically for Ottawa and has a .916 save percentage and 2.55 goals-against average in 17 appearances.
Brady Tkachuk has led Ottawa offensively this season with 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 31 games. Alex DeBrincat (nine goals, 21 assists) and Claude Giroux (14 goals, 15 assists) have also been notable offensive drivers for Ottawa after joining the team in the offseason.
Josh Morrisey has been leading the Jets offense from the blue line. The defenseman has 36 points (five goals, 31 assists) in 31 games. Pierre-Luc Dubois has 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists), tied with Kyle Connor (13 goals, 22 assists) for second on the team.
–Field Level Media
