The Winnipeg Jets will look to regain their footing after a rare misstep when they complete a three-game road trip against the Florida Panthers on Saturday in Sunrise, Fla.
The contest is the first of a home-and-home series between the teams. They’ll face off again in Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
The Jets saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-1 loss to the host Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. That marked the first road loss of the season and just the Jets’ second of the season through 17 games.
“End of the day, they were on a mission and they were not going to let us get into our game, and that’s a good lesson for us,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said of the Lightning. “We know how we have to continue to play, we know what helps us have success, and just get back to it.”
Captain Adam Lowry scored in the second period on Thursday to trim Winnipeg’s deficit to 3-1. But the Jets couldn’t find the net again and saw their franchise-best seven-game road winning streak snapped as well.
Kyle Connor, who leads the team in goals (11) and points (22), was held off the scoresheet for the fourth time in his last five games. Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi saw their respective eight-game point streaks come to an end on Thursday.
Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey, who leads the team in assists (15), is expected to play in his 600th career NHL game on Saturday.
“Every time you get another 100 games, it’s a cool moment,” Morrissey said on Friday. “It’s cool to be coming up on 600. It goes by fast. You hear everybody say that. A lot of great memories, and it feels like I’m just getting going.”
Like the Jets, Florida has endured a bit of turbulence after a stellar start. The Panthers had won a season-high seven in a row before dropping 4-1 and 6-2 decisions to the New Jersey Devils, both games in Sunrise.
“We haven’t loved our last two,” Florida head coach Paul Maurice said following Thursday’s loss. “You are not going to love them all.”
Sam Reinhart scored in both contests, giving him eight goals in his last eight games and a team-leading 13 for the season. He also has 13 points (eight goals, five assists) during his nine-game point streak.
Captain Aleksander Barkov extended his point streak to seven games (two goals, 11 assists) on Thursday but was in no mood to celebrate.
“In both games, they played really good offensively and we couldn’t get our offense going at all,” Barkov said. “We’re not happy at all with the past two games, especially this one. We just have to learn from it and move on.”
Barkov added that the defending champions won’t underestimate the Jets.
“We know who’s coming into town, the best team in the league right now playing unbelievable hockey,” Barkov said. “We got to be ready right away.”
