Jets’ inability to close out games front and centre as tail spin hits 11 games: ‘It’s in everybody’s head’

The Winnipeg Jets jumped out to a 3-1 first-period lead on Thursday before eventually falling 4-3 to the Edmonton Oilers for their 11th consecutive defeat.

Winnipeg’s nosedive, which dates back to Dec. 15, has dropped the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners to last in the NHL, now 11 points back of the Los Angeles Kings for the final wild-card spot.

Blown leads have been a common factor amid the skid for the Jets, with Thursday’s loss being just the latest example.

“I think we are all getting mental right now in the sense that it’s in everybody’s head,” head coach Scott Arniel said after the defeat. “But at the end of the day, we have a job to do. We have to play, and our best players have to be our best players in a game like that, our role players have to play their roles. I don’t care what the scenario is, when you are out on the ice you are playing a game, something you have done your whole life and we are in a situation like that, however you go about it you have to find a way to get yourself over the hump.

“We are so close, but at the end of the day, we shoot ourselves in the foot within those moments that kind of happen in the game.”

“It just seems like right now it’s that wall is 100 feet high,” forward Tanner Pearson added. “We’ve got to knock it down with an axe or something. We’ve got to get there. … I think you’re just searching for that one, right? It’s not easy. Everyone is trying to do the same thing in this league. Everyone is trying to win.”

The Oilers seemed to feast on the Jets’ vulnerability as Edmonton picked up a second straight win to jump into second in the Pacific Division.

“We’ve all been in this situation that the Jets are in,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “When you’re not winning games, it’s hard to close a game out.”

Winnipeg has picked up just four a possible 22 points over their past 11 games and nine of a possible 36 dating back to Dec. 1. Six of the 11 defeats have come on the road, while the team is now two games into a five-game homestand that continues Friday against the Kings. It will mark the first time the Jets have played back-to-back games since Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, and the team will hope a change in schedule can spark a way out of their current nightmare.

“We just sat on our heels,” defenceman Neal Pionk added of seeing the early lead evaporate Thursday. “And at this point, I think it’s mental, so we’ve got to overcome that tomorrow. … It’s a lot of mental mistakes by all of us. So [we’ll] look to regain our confidence tomorrow.”

Only four teams have missed the playoffs in the season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy, with the New York Rangers becoming the latest to do so last spring.