The Jets failed again to end their long losing streak on Saturday night, losing 4-2 to the Ottawa Senators. Tonight, the Jets played their first of five straight home games. Canada Life Centre was the host for tonight’s game, as the Jets looked once again to get out of the bottom of the NHL league standings. The now 15-21-4 Jets took on the 17-11-12 Golden Knights, with both teams really struggling in their 10 last games.

There were a few small changes to the Jets lineup tonight. Gabriel Vilardi moved down to line 2, playing alongside Jonathan Toews and Cole Perfetti. Alex Iafallo was up on line 1, Morgan Barron stayed on line 3, and Vladislav Namestnikov remained on line 4. Logan Stanley was suspended for tonight’s game after a sucker punch on Senators’ forward Brady Tkachuk. The Jets 3rd pairing tonight was Haydn Fleury and Luke Schenn, but a scary looking injury in the 1st period saw Fleury crash into the boards and was forced to leave the Jets with 5 defencemen for most of the night.

Connor Hellebuyck got another start in goal, as Hellebuyck continues get plenty of starts since returning from injury. The Jets lineup continues to be fully healthy and injury free. Hellebuyck entered tonight’s game with a 9-11-3 record, a 2.58 GAA and a solid .905 SV%. Despite not many shots on goal, the Jets had a 2-0 lead late into the 2nd period. At the final horn, the Jets were losers in overtime, marking their 10th straight defeat.

Tonight’s game started with Toews taking a tripping penalty just 16 seconds into the game. The Golden Knights’ early powerplay opportunity was denied, as the Jets got an early boost of momentum. The Jets would use that momentum shortly after, as Cole Perfetti scored his 3rd goal of the season on a backhand shot in front after being set up in close by Toews and Josh Morrissey.

It hasn’t been often that the Jets have opened the scoring lately, so this goal gave the fans (and the team) something to get their energy up in the building. A few minutes later, Haydn Fleury went down hard, crashing into the boards after a hit a little bit away from behind the net. Fleury wasn’t moving for a while, and he was forced to be stretchered off the ice. The Jets provided the following update after the 1st period.

A few minutes later, Adam Lowry dropped the gloves with Keegan Kolesar, who hit Fleury, and Lowry got a quick win in this scrap. The final 7 minutes of the 1st went without any more goals or penalties, as the Jets took a 1-0 lead into the 2nd period. The Golden Knights had the slight shots on goal advantage after 20 minutes played by a total of 6 to 5.

The 2nd period was a low event middle frame for most of the 20 minutes. Mark Stone took a slashing penalty at the 5:31 mark, which gave the Jets their 1st powerplay of the night. Both teams weren’t getting many shots on goal through 40 minutes, and that included on this 2 minute advantage for the Jets.

Around 5 minutes after the penalty expired, Luke Schenn scored his 1st (yes, 1st) goal as a Winnipeg Jet. Tonight also happened to be Luke Schenn’s 1100th NHL game, so it was a “double milestone” goal for the veteran defenceman. Adam Lowry and Gabriel Vilardi found Schenn at the blue line, and Schenn fired a wrist shot at the right time which went through a screened Carter Hart to give the Jets a 2-0 lead.

The rest of the 2nd period was almost uneventful, before Dylan Samberg took a high-sticking penalty with 1:03 remaining. The Golden Knights got set up after the faceoff to start the powerplay, and 12 seconds later Mark Stone scored his 13th goal of the season. Mitch Marner passed it to Pavel Dorofeyev, and his shot found Stone in front after deflecting off Schenn, leading to an easy “tap in” for Stone.

The Golden Knights outshot the Jets 8-4 in the 2nd period, but the Jets continued to lead 2-1. Shots on goal after the 2nd were just 14-9 for the Golden Knights, so you knew that both teams wanted to get more pucks on net in the final 20 minutes.

The 3rd period was all Vegas for the first 10 minutes, outshooting the Jets 9-0. A few minutes before the halfway mark in the 3rd, the Golden Knights tied this game at 2. Tomas Hertl found Noah Hanifin in the slot, and his shot was stopped by Hellebuyck. Hanifin collected the rebound and found Brett Howden nearby, and slapped one past Hellebuyck to equalize the game.

Two minutes later, after the Jets finally got their 1st shot on goal in the 3rd, Zach Whitecloud took a high-sticking penalty on Tanner Pearson. The Jets got a well-timed 2nd powerplay of the night, but it was cut a minute short after Josh Morrissey took a hooking penalty. Teams traded possession during the 4 on 4, and this game remained tied at 2 with 6 minutes to go.

Still with only 12 shots on goal in the game, the Jets took the lead with 5 minutes left. Gabriel Vilardi set up Kyle Connor in prime shooting position, and his wrist shot snuck past Hart to give the Jets a late 3-2 lead.

Despite not many shots on goal, things were looking good for the Jets. Unfortunately, one minute later, Reilly Smith scored his 6th goal of the season to this game at 3. Ben Hutton fired the puck on net, and Brandon Saad blocked it unintentionally, before Smith picked up the puck on the rebound and put it in the back of the net before Hellebuyck could get across.

This game needed overtime, as the Golden Knights outshot the Jets by a total of 26-15, but both teams found the back of the net 3 times. The Jets had another chance at ending the losing streak during overtime.

The Jets opened up the overtime with a solid chance by Morgan Barron, but as the extra frame went on it was the Golden Knights who had the slight advantage in chances. The Jets had a pair of great chances with a little over a minute remaining, but Carter Hart shut the door to prevent the Jets winner. With 50 seconds left, Dylan Samberg took a tripping penalty, giving the Golden Knights a late overtime chance to win this game before a shootout.

Hellebuyck stood tall in net to begin this overtime, but after resetting and getting set up, Tomas Hertl tipped the puck after a point shot from Marner. The puck trickled across the line, and with just over 12 seconds left, the Golden Knights won this game 4-3. Final shots on goal were 31-20 for the Golden Knights, and now the Jets are winless in their last 10 games, with a 0-6-4 record.

The Jets will now look to reset before playing their next home game, as their regular season schedule continues with a game against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. Puck drop for this game will be just after 7:00 pm CT. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for all of the latest Jets news, plus previews and recaps on each Jets game this season.