It has become a great mystery, this inability to find a way to squeeze out the bonus point in extra time.
While the premise that Winnipeg Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry holds about having ample opportunity to change the disappointing 3-10 mark in overtime and the shootout is accurate, one of the unexplored storylines surrounding the team this season relates to how the poor play at 3-on-3 and beyond has essentially sabotaged his team’s playoff hopes.
For a club that slipped to 24-21-10 after Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars in a game the Jets were in position to earn a clean two points before giving up a late goal, losing ground in the playoff chase is another missed opportunity — made even worse when you consider the visitors were without top defenceman Miro Heiskanen and noted Jets killer Tyler Seguin due to non-Covid related illness.
We’ll circle back to how the Jets first overcame a one-goal deficit to eventually hold a one-goal lead in the third period before failing to close out the contest, but let’s first examine the excruciating ending.
This was a classic case of the Jets having a glorious chance at one end — a one-timer from defenceman Neal Pionk from the hashmarks that Stars goalie Braden Holtby got a piece of with his blocker — only to see the rebound sail swiftly around the boards and allow Jason Robetson to streak up ice for a breakaway he converted to complete his first NHL hat trick with 29.9 seconds left in overtime.
There’s always an element of luck involved in 3-on-3, where all of the open ice can lead to a bit of a track meet.
Not much earlier, the Jets nearly ended things as Pierre-Luc Dubois rattled a shot from the slot off the iron.
When Mark Scheifele left a drop pass for Pionk, it was an outstanding opportunity to close the game out and the third member of the Jets on the ice was captain Blake Wheeler, who joined the rush and opened himself for a one-timer option just in case the defenceman opted to pass instead of shoot.
As the puck caromed wildly, Robertson emerged from the fray and showed off his great speed, beating Connor Hellebuyck with a quick shot to the blocker side before a diving Wheeler could impede the shot.
It was the fourth consecutive game in the season series that required extra time, with the Stars winning the final three at three-on-three after dropping a shootout to the Jets.
For a team that entered the contest six points behind the Stars in the chase for fifth spot in the Central Division, the difference between a clean win and losing ground is enormous — especially when you consider how little room for error the Jets have with 27 games left to go in the regular season.
No, the Jets can’t collect any of those 10 lost bonus points but what can they learn from the ones they’ve left on the table?
And how big a role does strategy play in the process?
Last season, Jets head coach Paul Maurice used an aggressive style, and in many ways, an innovative one, often taking as many as three rotations of three forwards in overtime — though he did occasionally mix in a defenceman on the second or third turn.
For a prolonged stretch of time, the bold strategy paid major dividends for the Jets when the game stretched beyond 60 minutes.
Of course, there are risks involved because defending with three forwards can be a massive challenge and eventually, there were a few losses that piled up, though that didn’t seem to deter the Jets from trying to be the aggressor.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Jets abandoned the strategy this season, first under Maurice and still after Lowry took over on Dec. 19.
Part of the reason for that is Josh Morrissey is having a fantastic season (he played a game-high 31:47 on Friday, including 2:06 in OT) and there are other offensive guys like Pionk and Nate Schmidt who can be effective under those conditions.
However, one can’t help but wonder if going back to a three-forward setup — even for one or two of those rotations — might prove to be a way to snap out of the extra time funk.
This isn’t to suggest playing three forwards would have definitely translated into a better record, but given the results to this point, it can’t hurt to give it a try, especially with Nikolaj Ehlers returning to the lineup on Friday after missing 19 games with a knee injury.
Lowry wasn’t interested in diving deep into any theories about why the Jets have struggled in extra time following the game.
Nor did he hint at reaching into the bag of tricks to see if the three-forward deployment might have a little magic left in it.
As is often the case, he’d already turned the page to Sunday’s game against the New York Rangers and took a measured approach on what was generated rather than what was ultimately lost.
“It’s not from lack of opportunity. If we weren’t getting chances, we weren’t getting opportunities, it would be a concern,” said Lowry, whose team is six points behind the Nashville Predators in the chase for the second wild-card berth in the Western Conference. “In every game that we’ve lost, we’ve had very good looks. You look at it again tonight, we get a one-timer from just above the hashmarks and the goalie makes a save and they come back and they score. We were getting opportunities.”
There’s no argument when it comes to the opportunities generated, if not converted.
But the Jets have also given up too many high-danger chances with the more traditional two forwards and one D-man setup.
Given how tight many games are played during the stretch run, you can expect the Jets to be involved in several more games that stretch beyond regulation time and how they handle those circumstances could play a big role in whether or not this group can stay in the race.
Picking up three of a possible 13 bonus points is simply not going to cut it.
Even earning four more wins in extra time would have immediately bumped the Jets into 10th place and left them with only two teams to leapfrog instead of four.
Instead, it leaves the Jets in the unenviable position of needing to get on a roll over the next two weeks, otherwise the prospect of standing pat will quickly be replaced by selling off assets and making moves to retool the current roster.
Back to how things quickly spun from rallying to unravelling.
The Jets got a goal from Kyle Connor early in the third period to make it 2-2, then took the lead when Wheeler found Paul Stastny for his second goal of the contest with a sublime pass that only Stastny seemed to be expecting in the slot.
But with the Jets seemingly closing in on an important victory, Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo (who helped set up the go-ahead marker) was clearly cross-checked to the ice by Robertson prior to Denis Gurianov scoring from the left point.
The infraction was missed by the officials, who had already handed out nine power plays (including a two-man advantage for the Jets that was not converted).
DeMelo raised his arms in disbelief, stunned the play was allowed to continue and that the player who knocked him over provided the perfect screen on the equalizer.
Not wanting to risk the fine, Lowry kept his answer brief when asked about the play in question.
“Well, he fell,” said Lowry, preferring to have observers draw their own conclusions.
Despite what was missed, the question remains: Why did Gurianov have so much time to get the shot off in the first place?
There seemed to be another breakdown in coverage and that was one of several Jets miscues that ended up in the back of their net.
Friday’s game provided a glimpse of how the Jets can play when they can utilize three fairly balanced scoring lines when healthy and roll out a fourth unit that can do more than just tread water.
This was an example of what can be accomplished, a 42-shot effort that produced 22 high-danger chances while allowing just 13 (including six during the final three periods), according to natural stat trick.
It also provided a stark reminder that when the execution slips ever so slightly, there can still be serious consequences, even when a single point is put in the bank.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
CALGARY – Mired in their first four-game losing skid in 20 years, the Calgary Stampeders are going back to Jake Maier at quarterback on Saturday after he was benched for a game.
It won’t be an easy assignment.
Visiting McMahon Stadium are the Eastern Conference-leading Montreal Alouettes (10-2) who own the CFL’s best record. The Stampeders (4-8) have fallen to last in the Western Conference.
“Six games is plenty of time, but also it is just six games,” said Maier. “We’ve got to be able to get on the right track.”
Calgary is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“I do still believe in this team,” said Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. “I want to see improvement, though. I want to see guys on a weekly basis elevating their game, and we haven’t been doing that.”
Maier is one of the guys under the microscope. Two weeks ago, the second-year starter threw four interceptions in a 35-20 home loss to the Edmonton Elks.
After his replacement, rookie Logan Bonner, threw five picks in last week’s 37-16 loss to the Elks in Edmonton, the football is back in Maier’s hands.
“Any time you fail or something doesn’t go your way in life, does it stink in the moment? Yeah. But then the days go on and you learn things about yourself and you learn how to prepare a little bit better,” said Maier. “It makes you mentally tougher.”
Dickenson wants to see his quarterback making better decisions with the football.
“Things are going to happen, interceptions will happen, but try to take calculated risks, rather than just putting the ball up there and hoping that we catch it,” said Dickenson.
A former quarterback himself, he knows the importance of that vital position.
“You cannot win without good quarterback play,” Dickenson said. “You’ve got to be able to make some plays — off-schedule plays, move-around plays, plays that break down, plays that aren’t designed perfectly, but somehow you found the right guy, and then those big throws where you’re taking that hit.”
But it’s going to take a team effort, and that includes the club’s receiving corp.
“We always have to band together because we need everything to go right for our receivers to get the ball,” said Nik Lewis, the Stampeders’ receivers coach. “The running back has to pick up the blitz, the o-line has to block, the quarterback has to make the right reads, and then give us a catchable ball.”
Lewis brings a unique perspective to this season’s frustrations as he was a 22-year-old rookie in Calgary in 2004 when the Stamps went 4-14 under coach Matt Dunigan. They turned it around the next season and haven’t missed the playoffs since.”
“Thinking back and just looking at it, there’s just got to be an ultimate belief that you can get it done. Look at Montreal, they were 6-7 last year and they’ve gone 18-2 since then,” said Lewis.
Montreal is also looking to rebound from a 37-23 loss to the B.C. Lions last week. But for head coach Jason Maas, he says his team’s mindset doesn’t change, regardless of what happened the previous week.
“Last year when we went through a four-game losing streak, you couldn’t tell if we were on a four-game winning streak or a four-game losing streak by the way the guys were in the building, the way we prepared, the type of work ethic we have,” said Maas. “All our standards are set, so that’s all we focus on.”
While they may have already clinched a playoff spot, Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo says this closing stretch remains critical because they want to finish the season strong, just like last year when they won their final five regular-season games before ultimately winning the Grey Cup.
“It doesn’t matter about what you do at the beginning of the year,” said Fajardo. “All that matters is how you end the year and how well you’re playing going into the playoffs so that’s what these games are about.”
The Alouettes’ are kicking off a three-game road stretch, one Fajardo looks forward to.
“You understand what kind of team you have when you play on the road because it’s us versus the world mentality and you can feel everybody against you,” said Fajardo. “Plus, I always tend to find more joy in silencing thousands of people than bringing thousands of people to their feet.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
