Special teams flounder for Winnipeg Jets in 4-1 loss in New Jersey

After putting together one of their strongest performances in weeks in a win over the Rangers, the Winnipeg Jets did not bring that elite level of play with them to New Jersey.

The Jets were badly outshot and their special teams units let them down in a 4-1 loss to the Devils Thursday night.

Neither side was able to find the back of the net in a fairly uneventful first period. While the Jets had two power play chances, the Devils outshot them 6-5 in the opening 20 minutes.

New Jersey began to take over in the second leading to their first power play chance and they took advantage straight away. A point shot deflected off Dylan Samberg and wound up on the stick of a wide-open Jack Hughes who buried it to open the scoring exactly nine minutes into the period.

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The goal snapped Laurent Brossoit’s shutout streak that dated back nearly three full games and at 179:29 was the second-longest in franchise history.

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The Devils carried the bulk of play as the period went along before Nikolaj Ehlers decided to take matters into his own hands.

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After the Jets had an extended shift in the New Jersey zone, the puck came out to centre and Ehlers retreated to collect the puck near his own blue line as his teammates changed. He turned and flew up the ice with the puck, making a great move at the Devils line that sent Brendan Smith to the ice before bolting towards the net and sending a laser beam of a shot through Jake Allen to level the score with 3:13 left in the period.

New Jersey outshot the Jets 22-9 in the middle frame, the most shots on goal that the Jets have surrendered in a period this season.

The Devils regained control of the lead on the power play just under six minutes into the third when Nico Hischier, just three seconds before Dylan DeMelo was to leave the penalty box, deflected a shot through Brossoit.

The power play struck again with just over eight minutes left when Jack Hughes beat Brossoit through a thick screen for his second of the night.

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The Jets failed on two third period power plays as they struggled to put anything together offensively on on the night.

Timo Meier put the nail in the coffin with an empty-netter with 49 seconds to go.

Brossoit turned aside 37 shots in the game while his team managed to get only 19 shots on Allen.

Special teams were also a major factor as Winnipeg finished 0-for-4 on the power play while New Jersey scored on three of their four chances with the man advantage.

The Jets will look for a bounce-back effort Saturday afternoon when they pay a visit to the Islanders. The pregame show begins at 10 a.m. on 680 CJOB with puck drop set for shortly after 12 p.m.