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Tonight, the Winnipeg Jets faced off against the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City for the first time, but poor defensive play led to a 5-2 defeat.
1st Period
There wasn&#8217;t much action to report in the opening frame. Both teams had a few decent chances, including a solid look for David Gustafsson, who broke in alone on a breakaway but couldn&#8217;t beat Utah&#8217;s goaltender—Connor Ingram.
At the end of the first period, the shots were 11-10 in favor of Winnipeg.
2nd Period
Adam Lowry did not return to the game and Gabriel Vilardi was slow to get up after an accidental collision with Alex Kerfoot. Vilardi missed some of the second period but then returned to finish the middle frame.
Utah opened the scoring at 16:00 when veteran defenseman Olli Maatta fired a shot from the blue line through traffic, beating Connor Hellebuyck. Initially, it was believed Clayton Keller had tipped it in, but the goal was later credited to Maatta—his first of the season. Nick Schmaltz (27) and Clayton Keller (34) earned the assists.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
No quit in these guys 🔥 1-0 Utah! <a href="https://t.co/OxBVMV1z5e">pic.twitter.com/OxBVMV1z5e</a>
&mdash; Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) <a href="https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1881553314799825078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Logan Cooley doubled Utah&#8217;s lead with 17.9 seconds left in the middle frame. Dylan Samberg tried to keep the puck in the Utah end but he instead whiffed on the shot and it was turned over the other way. The play developed into a 2-on-1 with Schmaltz on Cooley&#8217;s left. Cooley decided to shoot the puck and he roofed it to get his 15th of the season. Barrett Hayton (13) picked up the lone assist.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
LOGAN COOLEY IS FASTER THAN YOU! 🫵 <a href="https://t.co/LeTggcbq9V">pic.twitter.com/LeTggcbq9V</a>
&mdash; Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) <a href="https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1881554914863943801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
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After 40 minutes of play, the Jets had some work to do. They were down 2-0 and outshot 20-17.
3rd Period
Utah tripled their lead when Neal Pionk and Josh Dean got tied up for the puck. Doan outworked Pionk and fed a perfect pass to Hayton, who beat Hellebuyck with a quick shot as the Jets’ goalie lunged for a poke check but was easily beaten. Hayton’s 9th goal of the season came at 15:07, with Doan (2) and Kevin Stenlund (5) collecting the assists.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
HAYTES MAKES IT 3-0! 🔥
If you&#39;re not watching this game, you&#39;re missing out. <a href="https://t.co/NeQlUNogo6">pic.twitter.com/NeQlUNogo6</a>
&mdash; Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) <a href="https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1881561672533586236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And yet, the Jets&#8217; disastrous night continued. Utah extended their lead to 4-0 at 11:56 with a perfect tic-tac-toe play, set up by Hayton, Doan, and Matias Maccelli. After another costly defensive mistake by the Jets, Maccelli blasted the puck past Hellebuyck, who was left frozen, unsure of what to do. Maccelli’s 8th goal of the season was assisted by Doan (3) and Hayton (14).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Hockey masterclass from Chelly, Doaner and Haytes! <a href="https://t.co/EzqpJnRcbs">pic.twitter.com/EzqpJnRcbs</a>
&mdash; Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) <a href="https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1881563309415219661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Just 18 seconds later, the Jets cut the lead to 4-1 when Nino Niederreiter fired a quick snap shot that seemed to surprise Ingram, barely sneaking past him and crossing the line. Niederreiter’s 13th goal of the season was assisted by Nikolaj Ehlers (25) and Mark Scheifele (27).
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Quick release El Niño 💨 <a href="https://t.co/GIIzjuE15e">pic.twitter.com/GIIzjuE15e</a>
&mdash; Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLJets/status/1881564503847944312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Jets made things interesting at 8:12 when Dylan DeMelo rifled a slap shot past Ingram, cutting the deficit to two goals. The goal, DeMelo&#8217;s third of the season, was set up by Ehlers (26) and Samberg (5).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Serve it up and let it FLY 🚀 <a href="https://t.co/tyAXgkJiXT">pic.twitter.com/tyAXgkJiXT</a>
&mdash; Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLJets/status/1881565478612553996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Jets mounted a late push, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Utah’s dominance. With 2:05 left on the clock, Keller sealed the victory for Utah, burying an empty-net goal to make it 5-2, assisted by Schmaltz.
The loss marks the Jets’ second straight defeat and their first on this current road trip. This game highlighted several glaring issues, leaving plenty for the team to address.
Post-game
Nikolaj Ehlers didn’t hold back when discussing the team’s performance: &#8220;You look yourself in the mirror,&#8221; Ehlers said. &#8220;That is not Winnipeg Jets hockey. It&#8217;s not the first time this year we&#8217;ve played this way and when you don&#8217;t play the right way in this league, doesn&#8217;t matter who you&#8217;re playing against, you&#8217;re not winning that game and you&#8217;re letting our goalies down.&#8221;
Lowry was shaken up after the first period and while he did play some shifts, he did not return to the game after the first intermission. Scott Arniel said that they &#8220;don&#8217;t know nothing yet&#8221; about the Jets captain after the game.
Arniel also had this to say about his clubs performance: &#8220;That was embarrassing. That was, of all the games this year, that was the most embarrassing game for me, for our players, I take full credit. I gotta be the one that holds these guys accountable and make sure we&#8217;re better. That was embarrassing. From top to bottom, we did a horsesh—t job.&#8221;
Final Thoughts
Wow. All I can say is wow. That was a disaster of a game from a the Winnipeg Jets. Absolutely nothing went right tonight. I would need more than two sets of fingers to count all of the disgusting defensive mistakes we made. Mistakes like pinching at the wrong time, not taking sticks, horrible net front coverage. It was a mess. Simply, a mess.
Scott Arniel said that his team did a &#8220;horsesh—t job.&#8221; And he is totally right. What he said sums up this game completely. It was a mess from start to finish. There was nothing happening offensively and defensively for the Jets. Worst of all, their push back came when they were down by four goals which wasn&#8217;t enough. This was just some atrocious hockey by the Jets and you can say it wasn&#8217;t their style of play at all.
Up Next
The Jets travel to Colorado to take on the Avalanche this Wednesday. Puck drop is at 8:30 p.m. CT and is available to watch on TSN3.
Make sure to read the pre-game report and the post-game article after the game.

Follow us on our Jets Nation socials! X/Twitter: <a class="text-accent" href="https://x.com/NHLJetsNation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@NHLJetsNation</a> and on Instagram: <a class="text-accent" href="https://www.instagram.com/jetsnationdotca/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@JetsNationDotCa</a>

Tonight, the Winnipeg Jets faced off against the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City for the first time, but poor defensive play led to a 5-2 defeat.

1st Period

There wasn't much action to report in the opening frame. Both teams had a few decent chances, including a solid look for David Gustafsson, who broke in alone on a breakaway but couldn't beat Utah's goaltender—Connor Ingram.

At the end of the first period, the shots were 11-10 in favor of Winnipeg.

2nd Period

Adam Lowry did not return to the game and Gabriel Vilardi was slow to get up after an accidental collision with Alex Kerfoot. Vilardi missed some of the second period but then returned to finish the middle frame.

Utah opened the scoring at 16:00 when veteran defenseman Olli Maatta fired a shot from the blue line through traffic, beating Connor Hellebuyck. Initially, it was believed Clayton Keller had tipped it in, but the goal was later credited to Maatta—his first of the season. Nick Schmaltz (27) and Clayton Keller (34) earned the assists.

https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1881553314799825078

Logan Cooley doubled Utah's lead with 17.9 seconds left in the middle frame. Dylan Samberg tried to keep the puck in the Utah end but he instead whiffed on the shot and it was turned over the other way. The play developed into a 2-on-1 with Schmaltz on Cooley's left. Cooley decided to shoot the puck and he roofed it to get his 15th of the season. Barrett Hayton (13) picked up the lone assist.

https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1881554914863943801

After 40 minutes of play, the Jets had some work to do. They were down 2-0 and outshot 20-17.

3rd Period

Utah tripled their lead when Neal Pionk and Josh Dean got tied up for the puck. Doan outworked Pionk and fed a perfect pass to Hayton, who beat Hellebuyck with a quick shot as the Jets’ goalie lunged for a poke check but was easily beaten. Hayton’s 9th goal of the season came at 15:07, with Doan (2) and Kevin Stenlund (5) collecting the assists.

https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1881561672533586236

And yet, the Jets' disastrous night continued. Utah extended their lead to 4-0 at 11:56 with a perfect tic-tac-toe play, set up by Hayton, Doan, and Matias Maccelli. After another costly defensive mistake by the Jets, Maccelli blasted the puck past Hellebuyck, who was left frozen, unsure of what to do. Maccelli’s 8th goal of the season was assisted by Doan (3) and Hayton (14).

https://twitter.com/utahhockeyclub/status/1881563309415219661

Just 18 seconds later, the Jets cut the lead to 4-1 when Nino Niederreiter fired a quick snap shot that seemed to surprise Ingram, barely sneaking past him and crossing the line. Niederreiter’s 13th goal of the season was assisted by Nikolaj Ehlers (25) and Mark Scheifele (27).

https://twitter.com/NHLJets/status/1881564503847944312

The Jets made things interesting at 8:12 when Dylan DeMelo rifled a slap shot past Ingram, cutting the deficit to two goals. The goal, DeMelo's third of the season, was set up by Ehlers (26) and Samberg (5).

https://twitter.com/NHLJets/status/1881565478612553996

The Jets mounted a late push, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Utah’s dominance. With 2:05 left on the clock, Keller sealed the victory for Utah, burying an empty-net goal to make it 5-2, assisted by Schmaltz.

The loss marks the Jets’ second straight defeat and their first on this current road trip. This game highlighted several glaring issues, leaving plenty for the team to address.

Post-game

Nikolaj Ehlers didn’t hold back when discussing the team’s performance: "You look yourself in the mirror," Ehlers said. "That is not Winnipeg Jets hockey. It's not the first time this year we've played this way and when you don't play the right way in this league, doesn't matter who you're playing against, you're not winning that game and you're letting our goalies down."

Lowry was shaken up after the first period and while he did play some shifts, he did not return to the game after the first intermission. Scott Arniel said that they "don't know nothing yet" about the Jets captain after the game.

Arniel also had this to say about his clubs performance: "That was embarrassing. That was, of all the games this year, that was the most embarrassing game for me, for our players, I take full credit. I gotta be the one that holds these guys accountable and make sure we're better. That was embarrassing. From top to bottom, we did a horsesh—t job."

Final Thoughts

Wow. All I can say is wow. That was a disaster of a game from a the Winnipeg Jets. Absolutely nothing went right tonight. I would need more than two sets of fingers to count all of the disgusting defensive mistakes we made. Mistakes like pinching at the wrong time, not taking sticks, horrible net front coverage. It was a mess. Simply, a mess.

Scott Arniel said that his team did a "horsesh—t job." And he is totally right. What he said sums up this game completely. It was a mess from start to finish. There was nothing happening offensively and defensively for the Jets. Worst of all, their push back came when they were down by four goals which wasn't enough. This was just some atrocious hockey by the Jets and you can say it wasn't their style of play at all.

Up Next

The Jets travel to Colorado to take on the Avalanche this Wednesday. Puck drop is at 8:30 p.m. CT and is available to watch on TSN3.

Make sure to read the pre-game report and the post-game article after the game.

Jets’ late effort not enough in 5-2 Loss to Utah

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