Eric Comrie shines, but Jets leave him out to dry in loss to Lightning

A quick box score scan provides low-hanging fruit to characterize the Winnipeg Jets’ second loss of the season. 

But contrary to what the numbers suggest, Eric Comrie wasn’t the reason the Jets fell 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

“Can’t fault him,” Jets coach Scott Arniel told reporters post-game when asked about Comrie, who stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced. 

In fact, we should applaud him. 

“Early in the game, late in the game, he kept us in that one,” Mason Appleton told reporters.

While it may feel off-putting to glorify a goalie that posted a .893 save percentage, Comrie was solid throughout a lopsided affair that would’ve been much uglier for the Jets if it weren’t for their netminder. 

The Jets came out flat. The Lightning pressed hard from the get-go, outshooting the Jets 5-0 less than two minutes into the game, pinning the visitors in their own zone for the majority of the first 10 minutes of the game. The opening goal of the game — scored in transition by Jake Guentzel after the Jets botched a zone exit — was the first of many instances where Tampa Bay pounced on Winnipeg’s mistakes. 

“Early on we just tried to make a few too many plays,” Adam Lowry told reporters. “We just didn’t get to our game. Like through the neutral zone where sometimes they’ve got good gaps, you’ve got to put (the puck) in behind (them). We tried to make that extra play and they transitioned. They’re dangerous off the rush.”

Aside from some brief sequences in each period, the Lightning were in control for the majority of Thursday night’s game. But Comrie looked composed throughout and he even generated two highlight-reel saves on the penalty kill. The first came in the dying seconds of the second period, with Comrie denying a wide-open Anthony Cirelli from the slot. The second was arguably more impressive, with the 29-year-old sliding across the crease and kicking his pad out to deny a Nikita Kucherov one-timer. 

“He’s given us a chance every night to stay in hockey games or win games,” Arniel said. 

The Jets’ gamble on Comrie, who entered the season on the heels of two down years with the Buffalo Sabres, is paying off. In four games this season, Comrie has posted a .909 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average while facing 30-plus shots a night. His 0.76 high-danger goals-against average per 60 ranks second among goalies that have played at least three games, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. 

The numbers are shiny, but what carries the most weight is what he showed tonight — that he can give the Jets a chance to win against a quality opponent. Entering tonight’s game, Connor Hellebuyck had played 13 of the team’s 16 games, or 81 per cent, which marks the heaviest workload in the league. Considering the burnout we saw from Hellebuyck in the previous two playoffs, not to mention the fact the Jets have gained so much ground in the standings early on, it’s imperative that Hellebuyck’s workload is monitored, especially with him being a near-lock to backstop Team USA at the 4 Nations cup this year. 

Now, that’s easier said than done. But so far, Comrie has done everything he can to  make the Jets comfortable with giving their franchise netminder an extra night or two off.

The Jets’ seven-game winning streak entering tonight’s game was undoubtedly their most impressive stretch of the season. The eight-game winning streak to start the year came against just one opponent that made the playoffs last season. And then, they got punched in the nose by the Toronto Maple Leafs in a game that had many weary about the Jets’ hot start.

But they kicked things up a notch over the ensuing seven games — four of which came against the Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and New York Rangers. They were night-and-day better during five-on-five action. And the numbers back that up. 

“We’re scoring a lot of goals, but I still think one of our team’s best attributes is our five-on-five defensive play and that’s going to need to continue to be the case if we want to continue on this run,” Lowry told reporters.

• Tonight was another example of why Lowry’s leadership is so coveted. The way he intervened when Michael Eyssimont tried to fight Nino Niederreiter, how he responded to an accidental elbow from Erik Cernak by delivering a clean and hard check to Victor Hedman seconds later and his consistent effort to extend plays were all examples of why, in many ways, he’s the heartbeat of the team’s disciplined structure.

• Speaking of Eyssimont, some may look at him as “the one that got away” — he’s carved out a role as an effective energy player since being placed on waivers by the Jets and he was noticeable tonight — but I think you’ve got to look at it in a different lens. His departure is a testament to how solid the Jets’ bottom-six have been over the last few years. Eyssimont wouldn’t be a regular on this roster — he wouldn’t get minutes over Alex Iafallo, who is arguably one of the NHL’s best fourth liners — but I’d argue he’d be a sizeable upgrade on most team’s bottom-six.

• The Jets’ league-best power play generated just one shot during four man-advantages (technically, it was five but the last one came in the dying seconds of the third).

“They were extremely aggressive,” Arniel said. “They weren’t going to give us time to stand still and make easy plays. They were after us in a hurry.”