The road game blues have returned to the Winnipeg Jets as they lost to the last place Florida Panthers, who scored four unanswered goals; 6-3 in a game that was over by the end of the second period. Even though the Jets had two one goal leads in the third period, they once again couldn't finish an opponent off when thy had them down. Once again penalties killed the Jets as the Panthers hit the 50% on the powerplay, hitting as 3 for 6 with the extra man. The Panthers snapped a five-game losing streak in the win against the Jets.
The Jets didn't deserve to be in this even mid way through the third, even if they held the lead-twice. By the end of the second the cats held a 10 shot advantage, 26-16. The Jets didn't fair in the third any better, as they hardly entered the Panthers zone all night.
The game marked the fourth in a row in which the Jets opponent scored first. The game also marked Ondrej Pavelc's first-ever loss in Sunrise, Florida. Going back to the 2010-2011 season in Atlanta, through last season after the move to Winnipeg, Pavelec was 5-0 all time at the BB&T Center (formerly the BankAtlnatic Center.)
This is the second consecutive loss for the Jets, both on the road, after going 3-1-1 after their first four games. Friday, the Jets face the Eastern Conference -leading Tampa Bay Lightning who have won their last four. Unless the Jets can really get their act together and the play the way they did against Boston, Washington and Pittsburgh earlier on, expect a blowout in Tampa folks.
