Tyrell Bauer drops the gloves with Jets winless in seven

Tyrell Bauer dropped the gloves with Bokondji Imama early Friday night in Florida, and the Jets were desperate for a spark.

The two went toe-to-toe for over a minute with 17:56 showing on the first-period clock. It was still 0-0, and Winnipeg hadn't registered a single shot.

The standings don't leave much room for patience. The Jets have gone seven straight without a win, sliding to 2-6-2 over their last 10.

It's also the back half of a back-to-back. Thursday night in Tampa ended in a 6-4 loss to open a four-game road trip.

Bauer didn't dress for that one. The 24-year-old defenseman has seven games on his ledger this season, with no points and a -1 rating.

The Panthers already handled the Jets 5-1 in Winnipeg on Tuesday. They brought a two-game win streak into Friday's rematch.

Bauer, in the white No. 77 road sweater, kept his head tucked low against Imama's chest as they stayed locked together. Neither helmet came off.

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Josh Morrissey's absence puts the Jets' blue line under pressure

Josh Morrissey is on injured reserve with a wrist injury and isn't expected back until at least Nov. 3. That date lines up with the Montreal stop on this trip.

So the Jets are patching together a defense corps on the fly. Elias Salomonsson dressed in Tampa on Thursday with just three NHL games under his belt this season.

The Panthers are missing bigger names. Aleksander Barkov isn't expected back until at least Nov. 27, and Brad Marchand until at least Nov. 21.

Imama, for his part, has no points through 13 games and a -3 rating. Friday's tilt was easily the loudest shift of his season.

Feels good, right? It's the hockey version of yelling at your GPS: satisfying for 10 seconds, and the car is still lost.

The Jets have been outscored 42-32 this season. No amount of glove-dropping fixes that math, and pretending otherwise would be a mistake.

Kyle Connor owns 10 of those goals by himself. Past him, nobody on the roster has more than Cole Perfetti's six.

Oddly enough, the road hasn't been the problem. The Jets are 2-2-2 away from home and 2-4-1 in their own building.

Scott Arniel's group heads to Carolina on Sunday afternoon, then Montreal on Tuesday. If the skid follows them there, the next move might have to come from Kevin Cheveldayoff's phone.

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