There was plenty of blame to go around as the Canucks struggled to score with just 24 shots and gave up 20 of 33 in the second period.
Is this the year they’re going to win it all?
At the famous street corner of Portage and Main in frigid downtown Winnipeg, the faithful rightfully gather to trace the trajectory of their beloved and high-flying Jets for good reason.
They know the NHL’s leading team has the best goaltender in reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, the top-rated power play, second-ranked defence and a high-octane first line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi.
It took less than seven minutes for the trio to drive home the point that these Jets are for real.
Connor struck three times on three shots in the opening 6:38 for a natural hat trick and the sixth of his career to increase his goal count to 26.
There was plenty of blame to go around on each effort and it only added to the angst of trying to rally back against a confident club that has lost just five times in regulation on home ice.
“When you look at the Jets, it’s their play without the puck and transition and they obviously have some really good players,” he said.
Following an encouraging 3-0 victory Saturday in Toronto on the national Hockey Night in Canada state, Tuesday was beyond concerning.
It wasn’t just the quick three-goal spree, it was failing to find a way to get back in the game against an opportunistic and defensively responsible Jets. Going too quietly into the night is never a good look.
It’s why the anticipation in Winnipeg is matched by the angst in Vancouver. A frenetic fan base has been teased and tortured by the adversity, inconsistency and controversy that has plagued the defending Pacific Division champions.
They were projected for 105 points this season, four shy of their last campaign, but are more likely destined for 96 points, which could put them in playoff-positioning peril.
That point was also driven home Tuesday.
Here’s what we learned as Neil Pionk, Mark Scheifele and Nino Neiderreiter also scored for the Jets while Nils Hollander had the lone goal for Canucks, who were outshot 33-24:
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa
A sure sign that it might be a rough night came early. Nikolaj Ehlers was sprung on a breakaway and failed to beat Kevin Lankinen with a backhanded effort.
It led to a series of startling first-period events that allowed Connor to strike three times in every conceivable way.
It started with Lankinen going behind the net to play the puck, which is seldom a good idea for any stopper. The bouncing puck went off the dashboard and found Vilardi at the cornerboards.
And with Lankinen out of position in an attempt to scramble back to to the net, he was hopelessly out of position as Connor easily deposited the cross-ice feed into a yawning cage.
However, Lankinen then put a Pionk rebound into front of net and Connor easily went upstairs. And just 36 seconds later, Connor sped away and got behind the defence and went to the forehand deke.
The Canucks didn’t do much to stop the bleeding.
Pionk struck in opening minute of the second period on a shot that Lankinen either never saw or tracked properly because it easily beat him to the far stick side. And when Niederrieiter was allowed to gain inside position on a drive to the net and banked home his rebound from a sharp angle, it became five goals on 21 shots.
Hellebuyck doesn’t get rattled
It’s the positioning and poise of the Jets starter that has the NHL on notice.
There’s a reason why he took incredible numbers into Tuesday’s test. He led all stoppers in wins (26), goals-against average (2.02), saves percentage (.928) and shutouts (6) and improved all but one category.
It’s not just that the Canucks were limited to 24 shots, it was the manner of how Hellebuyck handled himself in scrambles.
Lack of shots, lack of goals
The Canucks were defending better over a period of six games before they fell apart Tuesday.
As much as that is concerning, it’s being ranked 31st in shots per game at just 25.1 and rated 19th in goals at 2.93 per outing that’s a double dilemma. Tocchet juggled his lines but poor decisions with the puck are proving costly.
And then, in the third period, he sped down the right side and didn’t hesitate to surprise Hellebuyck with a high short-side effort for his third goal of the season.
The Canucks also went 0-for-2 on the power play with just two shots. They’ve slipped to 22nd overall at 22.2 per cent efficiency and that trend needs to reverse. In a special-teams league, they have two man-advantage goals in the last seven games on 17 chances.