The Winnipeg Jets just can't seem to get over the hump.
Last season's Presidents' Trophy winners are last overall in the standings after the Jets lost their eighth in a row on Thursday. The latest setback saw the visiting Jets blow a 4-1 lead in an eventual 6-5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Now on the longest losing streak in Jets 2.0 history, the team has dropped seven of these eight games by one goal.
"How do we turn it around? I don't have a single answer for you that doesn't involve me talking here for five minutes," Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi told reporters. "There's a lot of things we can clean up and continue to talk about and work on. It's got to translate to the game, though."
The offensively-challenged Jets scored the most goals since their most recent win (Dec. 13) on Thursday night. The problem was they allowed the most goals since the game before that victory (Dec. 11).
"We finally score some goals but we implode the other way," Jets coach Scott Arniel said. "That's kind of been our group right now. It's trying to find that consistency in all areas, both offensively and defensively."
Jets goalie Eric Comrie got the start in the second half of a back-to-back after star goalie Connor Hellebuyck made the team's past nine starts. Comrie allowed all six goals, the same number he gave up in his last start way back on Dec. 11.
With another back-to-back looming next week, the Jets will have to decide if a goaltending move is needed after Comrie wasn't great on several goals Thursday.
But Arniel wasn't about to single out the goaltender. He pointed to the team's overall structure.
"Lot of sloppiness," he said. "We did all the right things to get to 4-1 and then it turned into a pond-hockey game. Some blind plays into the middle, got caught on some rush chances. all the things we've been doing so well since the break ... without the puck kind of went out the window the last 30 minutes."
Jets star forward Mark Scheifele, after a two-goal game, summed it up in simpler terms.
"It's a stinky one. Not many words for that one," he said. "That stung. Didn't put a full 60 minutes together."
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