Jets fail to support Comrie once again in loss to Flames

WINNIPEG — If it was any other game, the Winnipeg Jets could’ve held their heads high after the type of effort they showed Saturday. 

Despite falling 3-1 to the Calgary Flames on Hockey Night in Canada — in front of a sold-out crowd at Canada Life Centre, where the first 7,500 patrons were given a Cowboy hat for ‘Country Night’ — Winnipeg undoubtedly outplayed their opponent. The Jets spent the majority of the game in the Flames end, registering 85 total shot attempts and outchancing them 27-8 during five-on-five play. But it was just one of those nights where they got ‘goalied’ by Dustin Wolf — one of the best young goalies on the planet — who stopped 37 of 38 shots. 

And in turn, once again, the Jets weren’t able to generate enough goal support for Eric Comrie. 

Winnipeg’s backup netminder hasn’t recorded a ‘W’ since Nov. 1, which marks an eight-game win drought. Through Comrie’s recent 0-7-1 stretch, the NHL’s best offence has scored just 1.50 goals per game — a stark contrast from the 3.60 goals per game they’ve recorded during Hellebuyck’s 28 starts since Nov. 1.

“It’s a broken record. I have no idea why we can’t score when he’s in the net,” Scott Arniel said post-game. “We’re the highest-scoring team and it just seems like we can’t get him any run support. He gives us a chance every night, I don’t know what it is… we just don’t seem to score.”

It’s a damn shame, really. Boasting a .904 save percentage and a 2.87 goals-against average through 11 games, Comrie’s been as reliable of a backup as you could ask for and he’s come at a bargain, making just $825,000 until the end of the 2025-26 season. 

“At some point, we’ve got to find a way, off shin pads, or bang in a few for him because he’s battling his heart out for us,” Adam Lowry said. “We are not getting the results for him that he deserves.”

The Jets will tell you it’s not an indictment on Comrie, a beloved teammate who is always a willing target practice participant long after practice ends.

“We see the work he does and the goaltender that he is,” Kyle Connor said. “We’re not worried at all.”

The worry, though, lies in the impact that this type of stretch could have on Comrie. If you’ve ever played professional sports, you know that goalies usually wear a loss the hardest. Put yourself in Comrie’s shoes — you’re the backup goaltender of one of the best teams in the NHL and over the last two months you’ve been in the net for eight of their 12 losses. That wears on a guy. 

“He is taking it hard on himself,” Arniel said. “And he shouldn’t, because he’s given us a chance every time he goes in there. Guys are great with him. They really are. They really are and they know that they’ve got to get him some run support. Hopefully, we have one of those ones where we break out big time where we can get him that win by us supporting him with some goals.” 

The last thing the Jets can afford is to have this type of stretch send Comrie into a tail spin, over-analyzing every move and critiquing himself to no end. Comrie’s importance to this team — in a year where Hellebuyck’s already heavy regular workload is being supplemented by playing in the Four Nations Face-off, not to mention a potential lengthy playoff run — can’t be understated.

Ehlers flying

Nikolaj Ehlers was brilliant once again. 

Especially in the first period. 

“He could have had two or three goals,” Lowry said of Ehlers’ spectacular showing in the first frame.

Less than five minutes into the game, Ehlers drove through the middle of the ice — right between two defencemen within arms reach — and generated a chance in all alone on Dustin Wolf. He nearly scored on the rebound, which he rang off the post.  On his next shift, Ehlers picked off a pass and generated another chance in-tight on Wolf. And near the midway point of the period, Ehlers skated end-to-end — eliciting cheers from the crowd as he began to gain steam — for another chance. 

Every time he touched the puck, he was able to create something out of nothing. 

“He’s been doing it probably for the last… Oh, I think four or five games now,” Arniel said. “He got slow coming out of the gate after his injury but now, the biggest thing for me: he puts his speed on display. It’s a threat. Those defencemen don’t like to see him when he’s winding up like that. He pushes people back.”

No Moral Victories

What Connor said post-game tells you everything you need to know about the palpable culture shift this team has undergone.

Whether it was attributing a failure to “being a young team,” (even when they weren’t young at all), or rattling off a litany of reasons that almost was brought up to excuse the loss — this core used to deflect a lot of responsibility publicly.

That’s not the case anymore. 

Sure, there was no shortage of positives from Saturday —  nine out of 10 times the Jets play like that, they’re walking away with two points — but this group isn’t basking in moral victories. 

“A loss is a loss, at the end of the day,” Connor said. “You may have those games going forward, going into the playoffs, and you can’t just chalk it up to, ‘We thought we played well.’”

A statement like that — as opposed to a ‘Eh, whatever… we played a good goalie’ type of response — speaks volumes. 

“When you get that many chances and you get 15, 16 five-on-five chances, we usually get more than just one goal. That’s where they get frustrated. There’s frustration there. (Connor) is a goal scorer. He knows that tonight, he needs to get one of those to go in the net. And that’s what drives those guys. You love to see that. Nobody is happy about this. Yeah, we outplayed them, but it’s all about the two points, it really is.”

More from Sportsnet

Flames Takeaways: This is Dustin Wolf’s team now

NHL Rumour Roundup: Will teams view 4 Nations as trade deadline before the deadline?