The Winnipeg Jets lost Game 4 at Ball Arena 5-1 Sunday afternoon and now trail the best of seven series 3-1. Nate Schmidt scored the only goal for Winnipeg who went 0-for-4 on the power play and allowed two more power play goals. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves in the first two periods before being replaced by Laurent Brossoit before the third period, Brossoit stopped all four shots he faced. Game 5 of this series will be played at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday at 8:30 CT.
DISCIPLINE, DISCIPLINE
The Jets discipline hurt them again in Game 4. With the game tied at one in the second, Vladislav Namestnikov took a holding penalty at 11:22. 14 seconds into that power play, Valeri Nichuskin redirected a Cale Makar shot off the post and in to make it 2-1. With the Avs leading 3-1, Nino Niederreiter took a roughing penalty on Sean Walker. It took Colorado all of 36 seconds to score on that man advantage, Nichuskin found a loose puck in the crease and put in his second power play goal of the period to give the Avs a 4-1 lead after two.
“Wanna take penalties. Wanna play a three-quarter ice game? You're playing right into their hands. Our issues are self-inflicted,” said Rick Bowness.
“You saw us play the right way for 10 minutes in the second half of the first period. You take four penalties; you turn the puck over. That's exactly how they want to play. The issues are self-inflicted."
CHANGE UP FRONT
In an effort to find some offence, Rick Bowness flipped his left wingers on the second and third lines. Nino Niederreiter moved to the left side of Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli and Nikolaj Ehlers joined Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton. The Monahan line generated two scoring chances and gave up six at 5v5, and the Lowry line ended up with one scoring chance according to Natural Stat Trick. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby made his 2024 playoff debut on the fourth line with Vladislav Namestnikov and Alex Iafallo. Bowness said there will be some lineup changes made ahead of Game 5 on Tuesday.
SCARY INCIDENT
For the second straight game the Jets lost a player to a serious injury. In Game 4, Brenden Dillon suffered a cut to his hand which forced him to miss Sunday’s contest. Today, Namestnikov was hit in the face with a redirected shot. The Jet forward left the ice and was sent to a nearby hospital for treatment. Rick Bowness didn’t have an update on Namestnikov after the game.
