Matthews scores OT winner as Maple Leafs beat Winnipeg Jets 1-0

For the first time in almost two months, the Winnipeg Jets have lost two games in a row.

Winnipeg couldn’t find the back of the net Wednesday night in Toronto, falling 1-0 to the Maple Leafs in overtime.

After generating very little offence in Monday’s loss in Boston, the Jets dominated the first period in Toronto, outshooting the Leafs 16-4 but they were unable to get one past the much-maligned Ilya Samsonov.

Late in the period, Josh Morrissey blocked a shot in the midsection and had to head to the locker room. He did not return to the game, leaving Winnipeg with five defencemen for the final 40 minutes.

Toronto earned the game’s first power play early in the second but it was the Jets getting the best chance when Morgan Barron and Adam Lowry were sprung on a rare shorthanded 2-on-0.

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They passed it back and forth a few times before Lowry fired a shot that was stopped by Samsonov, and the rebound chance from Barron was turned aside by a sprawling pad save, earning the Toronto netminder a standing ovation from the home crowd.

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Toronto had two more power plays in the period that were also ineffective as the 0-0 stalemate remained through 40 minutes.

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The Leafs earned a fourth power play early in the third that was able to generate more chances than the previous three but Laurent Brossoit continued to stand tall for the Jets.

Power play number five for Toronto came with just over five minutes left, and before it was over, the Leafs were finally called for an infraction of their own, giving the Jets 1:23 of power play time that they weren’t able to do much with.

Into the final minute, the game remained goalless when Mason Appleton was hauled down, giving the Jets a power play for the final 35 seconds of regulation and first 1:25 of overtime, but again they couldn’t crack Samsonov.

Teams played 4-on-4 after the penalty expired until a whistle with 1:32 to go. Off the ensuing faceoff, the Jets wound up controlling the puck but as they tried to break out of their own end, Nick Robertson forced a turnover that would help decide the game.

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Neal Pionk stepped out from behind his own net and fired a pass up the middle that was sticked down by Robertson, setting up a great chance for Toronto that was denied in part by a sliding Nikolaj Ehlers, who lost his stick on the play.

The Leafs cycled the puck and just as Ehlers went to grab his stick behind the net, Lowry fell along the wall, giving the Leafs some room to work. As Ehlers skated back in front of the net, he lost Auston Matthews in coverage, who got to the crease and redirected a great pass from Morgan Rielly past Brossoit for the winner with 47 seconds left in overtime.

Samsonov earned his second shutout of the season, turning aside 32 shots for the win while Brossoit was also excellent, stopping 29 of 30 shots in defeat.

The good news for the Jets is that their once-lousy penalty kill took care of all five penalties they took, and they did earn a point despite not scoring a goal.

But it is the first time they have suffered back-to-back losses since a three-game skid to close out November. They’ve also scored just nine goals in their last six games, with four of them coming in their win over the Islanders Jan. 16.

The two teams will meet again in Winnipeg Saturday night in the Jets’ final game before the All Star break. The puck drops just after 6 p.m. with pregame coverage on 680 CJOB beginning at 4 p.m.

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