When Jake Evans chased down a loose puck behind the Winnipeg goal, wrapped it around the vacated net and across the goal line, things went from bad to worse for the Jets.

And that has nothing to do with the fact that Evans’ goal secured a Game 1 victory for the Canadiens and with it, a 1-0 series lead.

It’s what ensued seconds after Evans’ empty net goal that flipped the Jets’ night from bad to worse, capping off what was an ugly night from start to finish.

When the puck was cleared from the Canadiens zone and sent down to the other end of the ice, no Jets skater was in sight.

It was just Evans and the puck.

Skating 200 feet back to the puck from his own zone, Mark Scheifele arrived just a tick after the puck crossed the goal line. Although there was no way Scheifele could have prevented Evans’ insurance goal, he made no attempt to even try and do so.

No stick on stick.

No attempt to poke the puck.

Just Scheifele running through Evans, electing to take the body instead of the puck.

“It was a dirty hit but the league’s going to take care of it,” Canadiens' defenseman Joel Edmundson said. “If he gets back in the series, we’re going to make his life miserable, but I think the league’s going to do a good job with that.”

Scheifele has a phone hearing with the league’s Department of Player Safety on Thursday. With a phone hearing, Scheifele’s suspension would be maxed out at five games, he’s likely to get at least one.

Where that number lands is anyone’s guess. We all know how inconsistent the league is when it comes to discipline and protecting their players.

“Well, hopefully the young man is going to be all right. It’s such a highly unusual play because you’re backchecking back to kill an empty-net play, you’re coming full speed,” said head coach Paul Maurice.

“When Mark stopped skating, he kept his arms in. It’s a heavy, heavy hit. There’s no doubt about that. I’m sure the league will have its opinion.”

Scheifele was assessed a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. While bodies from both teams came together, punches and face washing following, it was Nikolaj Ehlers who had more important things on his mind.

As both teams were focused on protecting themselves and their teammates, Ehlers stood next to Evans, providing a shield as an attempt to protect him from any further damage caused by the raised tensions of the nine skaters on the ice.

"When something like that happens there tends to be a scrum," Ehlers said. "So, I was just trying to keep everyone away from him. In a situation like that, you don’t want anyone falling on top of him."

Evans was eventually placed on a stretcher and wheeled off the ice for further evaluation. He gave a thumbs-up as he was carried off the ice and, according to reports, Evans is back at the Canadiens’ hotel in Winnipeg and Is doing okay.

Thankfully, great news.

Before the puck dropped and any skates glided across the Winnipeg ice, the Jets suffered a loss as they were without Paul Stastny. He’s day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.

Then, Dylan DeMelo left the game after his first shift and did not return. Maurice will likely have an update on DeMelo on Thursday.

1:02 into the game and the Jets were down a center, and now, a defenseman. 3:08 seconds later, they were down 2-0.

With some rust expected after a nine-day layoff, this certainly was not the type of start the Jets were expecting.

"I think we just lacked a little sharpness early. A couple of mental mistakes," said Adam Lowry who settled things down for the Jets with his first period shorthanded goal.

"That's one of those things where, they get out to the lead and you dig yourself a hole, it's tough to come back but I liked the way we fought back in the game."

Down 2-0, and then later 3-1 and 4-2, the Jets would manage to get back into the game, cutting the deficit to one in each instance. But the momentum of their goals never carried much weight as in each instance they allowed Montreal to get the goal right back, all the way to Evans’ empty netter.

"You've got to give (Montreal) a lot of credit,” said Blake Wheeler. “They played a heck of a game. I think we can get back to some of the things we talked about coming into the series and it's not going to guarantee us success, but I think it'll give us an opportunity to have a little bit more success than we did tonight."

You could point to many different factors as to why the Jets will enter Game 2 Friday night trailing 1-0 in their second-round best-of-seven series.

Connor Hellebuyck looking nothing like the Connor Hellebuyck we saw against the Oilers didn’t help the Jets.

Hellebuyck made 28 saves but was vastly outplayed by Price who made one save less.

It’s just one game and everyone should expect a bounce back performance from Hellebuyck in Game 2. Regardless, the Jets’ netminder doesn’t care what Price is doing in the opposite goal.

He’s focused on his game, and what he’s doing inside his blue paint.

"I’m gonna refrain from answering those questions," Hellebuyck said when asked about Price’s night. "This is going to be a hard series and I don’t really care about what’s going on down there. I care about my game and how we’re playing."

After two ugly periods, the Jets seemed to find their game in the third period, something to build off for sure. Was it a matter of shaking off the rust? Or was it a matter of the Jets finally executing their game plan, and capitalizing on the chances they were getting?

Only time will tell.

"We were itching around 10 (days) and you just kind of lose that bite a little bit of what a playoff series is like,” said Wheeler. “But, you know, in some ways it’s a great reminder. We can take a lot of positives from tonight, no question."

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