JGD 57: Jets’ four-game road trip makes stop in Tampa

Jets players paid the price on Wednesday after the team suffered arguably its ugliest loss of the season.

Head coach Paul Maurice put the players through a gruelling hour-long practice, which included an intense conditioning skate.

This comes after the Jets mustered only eight shots through two periods in a 2-1 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Jets will try to get back into the win column on Thursday when they travel to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning.

Following the practice, a frustrated Andrew Ladd — who may not be a Jet by the time the NHL trade deadline rolls around in a couple weeks — challenged his teammates to be better.

From the Winnipeg Sun:

Provided by DailyFaceoff.com.

Mark Scheifele continues to struggle offensively as the 22-year-old has not scored a goal since Dec. 15 — a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues. “It’s definitely not because I’m not getting the chances,” Scheifele said.

Dustin Byfuglien, who was hit in the skate against the Hurricanes, did not practice but is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday night. Byfuglien leads all Jets defencemen in scoring with 15 goals and 19 assists.

Ondrej Pavelec, who recently returned from a knee injury, started the past two games for the Jets. He’s 6-7-1 with a 2.64 goals against average and .910 save percentage.

Vladislav Namestnikov, who’s been sidelined with an upper-body injury, participated in an optional practice, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Nikita Kucherov leads the team in scoring with 48 points, but he has just one goal in the last 17 games.

Victor Hedman had three assists the last time these two teams met in October. The Swede leads all Lightning defencemen with 5 goals and 30 assists.

Ben Bishop has started eight of the Lightning’s last 10 games. Bishop has posted a 22-17-3 record with 2.14 goals against average and .910 save percentage.

Game Day Prediction: The playoffs are quickly becoming a distant reality for the Jets, who are nine points out of a wild-card playoff spot. Being a lottery team seems more within reach right now. Lightning 5 Jets 2

Obvious Prediction: Expect Steven Stamkos to have a huge impact for the Lightning on Thursday. The soon-to-be UFA has lit up the Jets in 31 career games, scoring 25 goals and adding 18 assists.

Not So Obvious Prediction: Could this be Andrew Ladd’s final game as Jets captain? The trade rumours have been swirling as Ladd is reportedly not close to coming to a new contract agreement to stay in Winnipeg. A deal could happen any day now leading up to the Feb. 29 trade deadline.