After collapsing in the third period Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Winnipeg Jets headed to the Windy City looking to bounce back and extend their five-game point streak against the Chicago Blackhawks. Instead, they fell flat, getting shut out 2-0 by Spencer Knight, handing Winnipeg its fifth shutout loss of the season and dropping the team to 19-23-6.

Tonight was an emotional one for Jonathan Toews, making his first return to Chicago since 2023, but this time in different threads. The United Center stayed on its feet throughout the entire tribute on the arena’s jumbotron, and even several minutes after. Toews, visibly tearing up, completed several laps around the rink, waving to the crowd with his stick raised high. At one point, Toews, being the selfless player he is, even had to ask the crowd to settle down so he could get back to the game. It was a truly emotional moment and a fantastic welcome back for No. 19.

The Jets came out strong in the first 20 minutes, and despite the shots being even at 12 apiece, I expected them to break the ice in the middle frame. Instead, the Jets got a bit sloppy, which allowed Jason Dickinson to wire home his sixth of the season past Connor Hellebuyck’s glove at 13:21 to open the scoring.

Hellebuyck responded with an unreal glove save on Connor Bedard, sliding from right to left to make a highlight-reel stop and keep it a one-goal game.

Through 40 minutes, the Jets still hadn’t scored, but they trailed by only one goal while leading in shots 21-19.

The story was much the same in the third: too passive and not enough finish. Bedard iced the game with an empty-net goal at 18:40, his 20th of the season, making it 2-0. Hellebuyck finished with 22 saves, while Knight stopped all 32 shots sent his way.

During the Jets’ five-game point streak, scoring hadn’t felt like an issue. Contributions were coming from all over the lineup, but tonight, it felt like November and December all over again. Chances were there, but the finish wasn’t. The top line was invisible once again in what was a “must-win” type of game for Winnipeg’s playoff hopes. The Jets remain nine points behind Anaheim, who holds the WC2 spot.

Time to move on fast. The Jets are back at it tomorrow against another Central Division foe, the St. Louis Blues, who sit two points ahead. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. CST at Canada Life Centre on TSN3.