Arizona Coyotes enter All-Star Break rear-end first with 5-2 loss to Winnipeg Jets

In the cosmic scheme of things, it probably makes sense that the Arizona Coyotes got their butts handed to them after winning a game they had no business winning.

Still, that didn't make it any easier to watch.

The Coyotes started poorly and finished poorly in a 5-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. The Coyotes go into the All-Star Break with 53 points and a two point cushion on an Anaheim Ducks team that has two games in hand for the final Pacific Division playoff spot.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0 Winnipeg - Amazingly it took less than twenty-four hours for goaltender interference to become an issue again for the Arizona Coyotes. This time, it was Dustin Byfuglien in front of the net that prevented Louis Domingue from seeing or playing the puck, and Nikolaj Ehlers who banged home the rebound to give the Jets an early lead.

To recap, this is goalie interference:

Is this the new NHL standard for calling a goal off? Disallowed even after video review. pic.twitter.com/ynSXrhaoq4

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) January 26, 2016

Apparently, this is not:

@CenterIceSweety I finally figured out how @NHL is consistent in interference calls. Against AZ=goal, by AZ=no goal pic.twitter.com/CZeD4usqU8

— Christopher Canfield (@ccanfield1) January 27, 2016

Assists to Byfuglien and Blake Wheeler on the power play goal at 6:55.

2-0 Winnipeg - This time the Jets didn't need any help from the officiating. A two on one between Ehlers and Wheeler resulted in Ehlers' second goal on the night as Michael Stone missed attempting to block Wheeler's cross-ice pass. Assists to Wheeler and Mark Scheifele on the goal at 13:53.

Second Period

3-0 Winnipeg - Because sometimes life is really mean, Dustin Byfuglien scored from center-ice. Domingue went low to try to corral the puck, and it deflected just inside the net to give the Jets a three goal lead. Assist to Chris Thorburn on the goal at 6:00.

4-0 Winnipeg - The rout was on just past the midway point of the game, as Nikolaj Ehlers completed the hat-trick. An excellent give-and-go play between Ehlers and Wheeler along the far-side boards gave Ehlers enough room to sneak into the middle of the ice and score his third on the night. Assist to Wheeler on the goal at 14:31.

4-1 Winnipeg - Arizona would deny the Jets the shutout on the back of one of the better playing Coyotes this stretch: Brad Richardson. Richardson hung around the net long enough to let Jordan Martinook do most of the dirty work on his own. Richardson picked up Martinook's rebound and roofed it to give the Coyotes some life. Assist to Martinook on the goal at 15:40.

5-1 Winnipeg - Whatever hope Arizona might have had was snuffed out in a manner so spectacular, so inexplicable that it nearly defies words. On a five-on-three power play, the Coyotes gave up not one, but two shorthanded breakaways to the Jets. It would be Dustin Byfuglien who made it count the second time around for one of the single most pathetic plays in modern Coyotes history. Assist to Tyler Myers on the three-on-five goal at 17:43.

Third Period

5-2 Winnipeg - In garbage time, Anthony Duclair got rewarded for his work taking shots. In his ninth shot over the last two games, Tyler Myers fell behind the net while playing the puck, and Martin Hanzal was easily able to steal the puck away and feed a wide-open Duclair in front of the net for the rookie's 13th goal this season. Assist to Hanzal on the goal at 19:43.

Stat Report

Paw Prints

• For the Winnipeg reaction, be sure to check out Arctic Ice Hockey
• With no Viktor Tikhonov due to injury, Christian Thomas made his Coyotes debut. He played 10:35 and took three shots.
• This might have been the worst game of Michael Stone's career; his first of three penalties on the night resulted in Winnipeg's first goal, and he was on the ice for two more Winnipeg goals beyond that one.
• Arizona has allowed nine shorthanded goals this season, most in the league and two more than second place Dallas and New Jersey.
• The trio of Nikolaj Ehlers, Dustin Byfuglien, and Blake Wheeler combined for nine points.
• The Doan-Richardson-Martinook line has combined for eight points in its last four games.

Looking Ahead

Arizona mercifully gets a week off before beginning a three game stretch against the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Anaheim Ducks starting on February 2nd.