Winnipeg Jets face penalty trouble in loss to Stars

It was only a matter of time before the Winnipeg Jets' penalty problems would come back to bite them in the you-know-what.

For the better part of 51 games this season the Jets have lived on the edge, wilfully executing a style of hockey that throws caution to the wind in favour of grit and team unity.

But this week has been a not-so-quiet reminder that a lack of discipline doesn’t always translate to wins in the standings and tighter relationships with your peers.

That came to a boil Saturday night as the Jets dropped their third straight game since returning from the All-Star break earlier this week, falling to the Dallas Stars 5-2 at the MTS Centre. It was a bout that saw the Stars score four goals on eight trips to the power play.

Much was the same Tuesday in a 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh.

The Jets had a 3-2 lead over the Penguins erased after allowing two power play goals late in the game, begging the question whether the Jets are struggling to find a balance between a hard-nosed style of hockey and playing within the rules.

“It’s something that we have to get better at, walking that line and being more disciplined,” said Jets captain Andrew Ladd. “I think at times you try to wind yourself up as much as possible emotionally, trying to finish every check and get involved in the game and sometimes we’ve been taking it too far.”

It’s no secret the Jets lead the league in penalty minutes. It’s a title Winnipeg has owned for most of the season, and at times, though they would never fully admit it, it seemed like something they took pride in — at least when it came to their penalty kill.

But even that has started to slip.

In the Jets' current three-game skid, the PK has allowed a dismal seven goals in just 13 attempts. A top-five unit less than a month ago, Winnipeg is now just average, wedged in the middle of the pack at sixteenth.

“Confidence is still everything,” said Maurice when asked to explain the fall of his PK squad, adding, “we’re slow on our kill right now and that’s a confidence thing.”

Finding that confidence will no doubt be at the top of the Jets' to-do list as they can’t afford to lose ground in the race for their first playoff berth in four seasons in Winnipeg.

The Jets currently occupy the first wild card spot in the west, three points up on the Calgary Flames who have a game in hand.

Winnipeg will get a chance to separate themselves from the Flames when the two teams meet Monday night in the Jets' first of back-to-back road games, a trip that ends in a tilt against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

Hutch looks human

It was a Michael Hutchinson performance Jets fans aren’t used to seeing from their 24-year-old saviour.

The Jets' net-minder, who has quickly risen to star status in Winnipeg, got the nod for the second consecutive game in favour of Ondrej Pavelec.

But he didn’t do much to raise his stock, allowing five goals, including a weak shot from the blue line from Stars defenceman John Klingberg, early in the third.

Hutchinson has now allowed four or more goals in his last two starts and three of his last six. His numbers, however, remain sound with a 2.15 goals against average and a .927 save percentage.

Zach attack

It’s usually a crushing hit or a creative rush up the ice that sticks out most about Jets defenceman Zach Bogosian in any given game.

But on Saturday, it was his stick work on Stars forward Antoine Roussel that made him a target of conversation and criticism.

Bogosian, frustrated after a shift that saw the Jets pinned in their own end for some time, took his stick and broke it over the knee of Roussel, a player known for his ability to get under the skin of opposing teams.

The hack job landed Bogosian a two-minute slashing penalty followed by a seat at the end of the Jets bench for the final six minutes of the first period and the first half of the second.

Bogosian would return only to take another slashing penalty on Roussel on his very next shift.

Bogosian sat for the rest of the period, playing just 49 seconds in the middle frame before taking a regular shift in the third.