The Winnipeg Jets host the New Jersey Devils on Sunday afternoon after showing signs of life in their most recent outing, while the Devils continue to search for a bounce-back performance.
Still reeling from a 9-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday night, New Jersey looked for a response Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins but fell 4-1 despite a strong push at times. The defeat was the Devils’ third straight and their seventh in the past nine games.
Looking beyond the final score, however, head coach Sheldon Keefe said he was not entirely disappointed with his team’s performance.
“The first period, I thought we were quite good. We didn’t allow a shot on goal in the last 11 minutes of the first period, and we had some point-blank opportunities,” said Keefe on Thursday. “Some of those pucks fall in the first period on some of those chances, we win this hockey game.”
Despite those comments, accountability remains a focus for a team that entered the season with high expectations but now finds itself five points out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot entering Saturday’s action.
The Devils placed defenseman Dennis Cholowski on waivers on Friday. The former first-round pick by Detroit appeared in 15 games for New Jersey, recording one assist. Forward Timo Meier said the rest of the Devils’ roster know they have to be better.
“We have to move on,” Meier said on Thursday. “We’ve talked a lot. Now it’s the action that has to take over.”
In Winnipeg, there was a sense of a massive weight being lifted off the Jets’ shoulders on Friday night as they snapped an 11-game winless skid with a dominant 5-1 home win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Few felt that relief more than head coach Scott Arniel.
“I have to give a shout out to the crowd. That was fun, they were loud, and they were enjoying themselves,” Arniel said Friday. “We needed that, as you know we needed it badly. I just like the way, on a back-to-back game, such an emotional one last night, and to come back today was great.”
The Jets surrendered another two-goal lead in a 4-3 disappointing loss to Edmonton in Winnipeg on Thursday. Vladislav Namestnikov was a healthy scratch, but he returned to the lineup Friday and ended a lengthy goal-scoring drought by finding the back of the net early in the first period for his first goal in 30 games.
“It’s a long time coming,” Namestnikov said. “It’s just a relief. You want to score so bad, and it doesn’t go in for however long it was. It’s hard and kind of drains you mentally, but you got to keep going. I’m just glad it went in.”
On the injury front, Devils winger Evgenii Dadonov remains on injured reserve with a wrist injury and is not expected to return until later in January. Winnipeg defenseman Neal Pionk (foot) was scratched Friday against the Kings, as was forward Morgan Barron with an undisclosed injury and illness, and both are considered day-to-day.
