Mar 16, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Olli Jokinen (12) and forward Evander Kane (9) congratulate defenceman Zach Bogosian (44) on his game winning shoot out goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Winnipeg defeated Toronto 5-4 in an overtime shoot out. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs overcame a 4-1 deficit, but it wasn’t enough as they were defeated 5-4 by the Winnipeg Jets in a shootout Saturday night. With the win the Jets pulled into a tie with the Leafs at 32 points, but they overtook Carolina for the Southeast lead to find themselves in third spot in the East.

Toronto had an awful first 18 minutes of the second period where Winnipeg jumped all over them for four goals. The Leafs had no energy and were fortunate enough to battle back to at least salvage a point out of this one. When this week began the Leafs were thinking they could gain some separation from the Jets in the standings, but losing two to Winnipeg has now put them right back in the thick of the playoff race.

Here are a few things that stood out from the game.

Joffrey Lupul’s return

Lupul appeared to have no rust after missing 25 games with a broken forearm. He notched two goals, had five shots, and threw six hits. Lupul really seemed to spark the Leaf offense, especially late in the second period after they fell behind 4-1. It looked to give Toronto a little more balance and now all of a sudden they have three lines that can score.

Cody Franson looking sharp

Franson’s game was strong tonight and he is looking extremely confident with the puck. He finished as a plus-1, while adding four shots on net and delivering six hits. The thing that is most impressive about Franson is his passing ability. He seems to be really patient from the point and finds a way to get his shots through, or makes an intelligent pass to setup someone at the side of the net. It would be nice to see him get a little more power play time.

Carl Gunnarsson seems off

Gunnarsson has been dealing with nagging hip/groin issues all year and just doesn’t look right. He had a handful of giveaways in this one, including a few all on one shift and looks tentative with his decision making. There was an instance late in the third where he could have easily kept the puck in, but hesitated for just a second and the Jets were able to clear the zone.

The Shootout

It took 10 shots each for this one to be settled and you could hardly fault James Reimer for the result. The Leafs goaltender made eight straight stops to give his team a chance to take the lead, however, Toronto hit several posts and couldn’t beat Ondrej Pavelec. For some unknown reason Randy Carlyle opted not to let Mikhail Grabovski shoot. I’m not sure what he was waiting for as these bonus points are extremely important this season with the all conference schedule.

Mar 12, 2013; Winnipeg, MB, CANADA; The Winnipeg Jets celebrate a goal by Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane (9) during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

The Winnipeg Jets got the better of the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday night at the MTS Centre. Blake Wheeler found the back of the net twice for the Jets and former Leaf Nik Antropov added a goal and two assists. Evander Kane and Kyle Wellwood also chipped in with a goal and defenseman Dustin Byfuglien had three helpers to round out the scoring for the Jets.

This was not a particularly good effort for Toronto and the score was probably even more flattering than it should have been. The team did little to help starter James Reimer as the defense is now beginning to show some signs of weakness. Phil Kessel was a lone bright spot scoring both Leaf goals.

Here are a few things that stood out from the game.

Poor defensive play

Toronto was really exposed last night defensively and struggled to keep up with the Jets’ foot speed. It was especially evident on Winnipeg’s fourth and fifth goals when Evander Kane and Blake Wheeler got in behind the defense with ease. The Leafs have now given up 29 goals in their last seven games, for a goals against average of 4.14. Randy Carlyle may have to bring someone in from the press box to send a message, or recall Jake Gardiner for a change of pace.

Awful line changes

A bad line change is going to happen every so often, but the Leafs had a few glaring ones in this game. In the first period they gave up a 3-on-2 when the Toronto forward group just casually skated off during a Jets breakout. They were fortunate Winnipeg couldn’t capitalize. However, it finally caught up to them late in the third when Kane took advantage of a sloppy change to put the game away. The Leafs turned it over instead of getting the puck deep leaving several players caught in no-man’s land and Kane skated in on a breakaway.

5-on-3′s need work

The Leafs had a 5-on-3 for almost a full two minutes in the second period and couldn’t score. The puck movement was poor and Dion Phaneuf, who I praised for showing patience on Saturday night with three assists, hammered the puck right at Jet shot blockers on a couple of occasions. The Leafs need to be better with their shot selection overall, but especially on a 5-on-3. What’s worse than not scoring in these situations is the momentum it gives the opposing team. The Jets were full of energy after killing that off.