Jets' goal scoring woes continue in frustrating loss to Maple Leafs

WINNIPEG — If you rewind the video of his post-game interview, you actually have to applaud Pierre-Luc Dubois for the next-level restraint he was able to show.

Once you get past the look of complete and utter disdain as he fielded a pair of questions about the officiating in the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday and you factor in the pair of pregnant pauses, it’s probably a miracle he didn’t come right out and say something he might actually regret.

Or something that was going to hit him directly in the pocket book at the very least.

On two separate occasions, Dubois referenced the game-winning goal scored by David Kampf, which included a subtle pick play by Wayne Simmonds at the blue line that knocked over Jets right-winger Mason Appleton and created a bit of chaos that led to the fourth-line marker that put the Maple Leafs ahead for good.

“Yeah. I don’t want to get fined,” said Dubois, who scored the lone goal of the game for the Jets, who slipped to 2-3 on the season and have dropped three of the past four games after winning their opener.

Jets head coach Rick Bowness took the same tone as Dubois in his post-game presser, though he was slightly more expansive.

“I’m the same way. Don’t want to get fined,” said Bowness. “What we see and what they see, a lot of times, is two different things. What we saw, they didn’t see. It’s as simple as that.

“It was a collision. And it led to the goal against. Actually we were in good shape coming in. All of a sudden we lose Mason and the scramble was on. But again, what we see and what they see are two totally different things on that play.”

The potential interference penalty to Simmonds that was not called was one of several plays the Jets were upset about.

But perhaps none was more controversial than an interference call on Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey, who stepped up at the left point to deliver a hard, but clean check on Maple Leafs left-winger Nick Robertson just after he touched the puck along the boards.

A melee ensued and Morrissey dropped the gloves with Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly.

When the dust settled, the teams were even and the odd turn of events was that Rielly was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty instead of an instigator that would have come with an additional 10-minute misconduct.

Morrissey took a measured approach to comments about officiating, but also provided his viewpoint of the play in question.

“I tried to pinch down and they always say either get the puck or the man. I tried to play the body,” said Morrissey. “I haven’t seen all the angles whether… the game happens fast and if it didn’t touch his stick, that’s interference and they got the right call.

“If it did, and I thought kept my arms down and stay as compact as possible and not try and drive up at his face. Like I said, I haven’t seen all the angles but the game happens pretty fast and, like I said, if it touched his stick, I thought it was fine, and if it did, that’s interference and glad he was able to play the rest of the game.” 

As for Rielly jumping to the defence of his teammate, Morrissey had no issue with the response.

“I mean anytime there's a big hit, I think it draws a crowd,” said Morrissey. “If they thought that maybe he didn't touch the puck or whatever, also it's one of their top young prospects. We would do the same thing, right? That's kind of the game.

“I turned around, obviously they didn't like it, and I tried to answer the bell. I'd expect the same thing for a situation on any one of our players, but a young guy, so I don't really have an issue with it. As I said, I'm glad that all-in-all, he's OK, and like I said, I just tried to make a clean hit.”

It was one of those nights when both sides were not thrilled with the men in stripes, with Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner irate after Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo checked him from behind into the boards in the first period and the Jets sour when Maple Leafs defenceman Rasmus Sandin hit Cole Perfetti on the numbers, but void a call.

But make no mistake — despite some calls the Jets didn’t agree with, officiating wasn’t the biggest reason this game went the way of the Maple Leafs.

Toronto scored twice on three opportunities on the power play and got two goals from captain John Tavares and three assists from Auston Matthews, while the Jets managed to get only one puck past Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov.

It’s obvious the Jets are missing top-line winger Nikolaj Ehlers right now and while Bowness isn’t expecting him to be out much longer than the next game or two, the Jets are in dire need of some offence as they welcome the St. Louis Blues to town on Monday to close out this abbreviated two-game homestand.

Dubois scored his second goal in as many games and also rattled three shots off the iron in the same span — though he was in no mood to discuss in detail what’s allowed him to have an offensive impact recently.

“It’d be nice if we could get a win out of those two games at least. I mean, at the end of the year if I score 50 and we don’t win, it doesn’t mean much to me,” said Dubois. “If me not scoring means we win, I’ll take that.”

You can understand why a guy like Dubois wasn’t in a celebratory mood after a frustrating defeat, but the underlying theme — while consider this is still a very small sample size — is that goal-scoring has been hard to come by for the Jets early in the season.

In the three losses, the Jets have managed to score just four goals — which means there’s an awful lot of pressure on the goalies to be almost perfect.

Getting the power play going and improving the penalty kill would certainly help, but the Jets insist it’s too early to suggest that they’re squeezing the stick.

“I don't think frustration. We're early in the season. I think we know the type of talent we have in our locker room and the offence we possess here,” said Morrissey. “And I think there's no need for that this early on. We've had some nights where we're playing — and first of all, we're playing against good teams in our league right now that aren't giving up much.

“When you're looking at the way they defended, they defended hard. Their neutral zone especially. We're still getting used to our system and as we get comfortable, that offence is going to come, and, as I said, we're not worried about that at all.”