Scott Arniel's decision to bench Cole Perfetti draws attention after post-game comments
Jets coach Scott Arniel decided to bench Cole Perfetti in the third period of last night's game vs. the Avalanche, and his post-game comments raised many eyebrows.
The Colorado Avalanche continued their dominance at Ball Arena on Friday, holding off the Winnipeg Jets for a 3-2 win and extending their home winning streak to 12 straight games.
What Brent Burns did that was impressive for his age
Brent Burns opened the scoring in the first period, netting his fifth goal of the season and further cementing a rare milestone for defensemen at age 40 or older.
Martin Necas and Parker Kelly also scored for Colorado, while Josh Manson added two assists. Scott Wedgewood turned aside 20 shots as the Avalanche improved to 14-0-2 on home ice and pushed their point streak to seven games.
Winnipeg showed pushback but could not fully recover. Morgan Barron scored a short-handed goal late in the second period, and Mark Scheifele added a power-play marker early in the third.
"Made a mistake on the power play, gave up the short-handed one. Made a mistake on the penalty kill, gave up a quick power-play goal. But besides that, I liked our game. I thought it was, like, really solid."
- Jared Bednar
- Jared Bednar
Connor Hellebuyck finished with 23 saves, but the Jets dropped their third straight game and fell to 1-5-1 over their last seven.
Why Scott Arniel's post-game comments raised eyebrows
Beyond the result, much of the post-game focus centered on a notable benching decision. Jets coach Scott Arniel elected to sit Cole Perfetti for the entire third period against Colorado.
After the game, Arniel confirmed the decision was not injury-related, a clarification that immediately raised eyebrows given the timing and context of the move in a tight contest.
The decision added another layer to a difficult night for Winnipeg, as questions now linger following both the loss and the coach's comments.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 20 | 201 ANSWERS Scott Arniel's decision to bench Cole Perfetti draws attention after post-game comments Did Scott Arniel make the right decision benching Cole Perfetti? | ||
| Yes | 154 | 76.6 % |
| No | 47 | 23.4 % |
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