Jets shut out by Sharks, lose ground in wild card race

SAN JOSE --The Winnipeg Jets lost ground in the Western Conference wild card race when James Reimer made 41 saves for the San Jose Sharks in a 3-0 win at SAP Center on Tuesday.

"We've got to be a desperate team," Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. "It's down to crunch time. We've just got to embrace that fight and embrace it together as a group and keep fighting. Fight with each other and put it all out there. That's all we can do."
Connor Hellebuyck made 27 saves for the Jets (41-31-3), who lead the Calgary Flames by two points for the second wild card from the West after the Flames won 2-1 against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
Winnipeg is just three points ahead of the Nashville Predators, who also won Tuesday, 2-1 at the Boston Bruins. Nashville has played two fewer games.
"It's a tough loss, for sure," Jets forward Mark Scheifele said. "We're in the thick of it, we're in the fire, and that's where things are molded."
Noah Gregor had a goal and an assist for the Sharks (20-39-15), who had lost nine in a row (0-6-3). Their previous win was a 3-2 overtime victory at Winnipeg on March 6.
"It's as solid of a win as we've had in a while, and we haven't had a win in a while," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "So, it was a good win. Obviously, 'Reims' played great, but they were opportunistic and it was a gutty performance in a lot of ways against a team that's fighting for a playoff spot."

Gregor gave the Sharks a 1-0 lead at 9:51 of the first period when Jacob Peterson set him up from behind the net three seconds after San Jose's first power play of the game expired.
"It's always nice to get on the scoreboard," Gregor said. "I think that as of late, my game has been pretty solid. The points don't always come, but when they do it's always nice."
The Jets outshot the Sharks 16-12 in the first but couldn't solve Reimer, who allowed seven goals in his previous start, a 7-2 loss at the Vancouver Canucks on March 23.
He made his best save at 16:19 of the second period, when he lunged across the crease and got his stick on Mason Appleton's point-blank chance.
"I know he had a little stretch there where I know he wished he had played better," Quinn said. "But he had a really good start and he's been really good lately."

Kevin Labanc made it 2-0 at 2:23 of the third period on a redirection of a shot from Nico Sturm, and Martin Kaut scored on the power play at 17:57 for the 3-0 final.
"The offense gave us a chance to win the game, we just didn't score," Bowness said. "Then, the inconsistencies with some of our players is hurting us. Some of these guys think they're giving us everything in their tank. They're dreaming. We have a lot of guys in there giving us everything they can. We just need a few more guys to jump on board."
Reimer preserved his third shutout of the season with 15 saves in the third.
"It's always nice when you get the win, and the bounces," Reimer said.