The Winnipeg Jets five-game homestand got off to a tough start Tuesday night.

Reilly Smith and Jaromir Jagr scored third period goals as the Florida Panthers beat Winnipeg 3-2 at MTS Centre.

Smith scored his second goal of the game on the power play 1:46 into the period and Jagr got the game winner less than two minutes later.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice said his hockey team was flat in the final 20 minutes.

"The tie goal on the 5-on-3 is basically what led to that.  We were out of sorts when it gets tied. We didn’t play the third period the way we played the first two. Our transition game changed, we slowed our transition though the neutral zone and that’s why we didn’t look the way we did in the third [compared] to the first two."

Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Copp scored second period goals for Winnipeg.

The Jets (26-32-4), who have lost 10 of their last 12 home games, host the N.Y. Islanders on Thursday.

The Panthers have come to terms on an entry level National Hockey League contract with Brandon Wheat Kings forward Jayce Hawryluk.

The 20-year-old Roblin native was Florida's second round draft choice (32nd overall) in 2014.


photos by Ray Peters