The Winnipeg Jets were on the road as they faced the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina. While the game seemed like it was going to be an early implosion, it turned out to be far from that.
Stale First Period Due to No Scoring
The first period of the game didn’t have much to brag about other than a couple of great chances for Carolina to secure an early lead. The Jets looked slow and didn’t move the puck well in the first 20 minutes of the game. Adding insult to injury, Neal Pionk took an unnecessary roughing penalty and Nate Schmidt was called for tripping.
Two successful penalty kills for the Jets but they lacked any bite and let Carolina lead in shots 12-11 at the end of the period. Hellebuyck did what he does best and bails out the Jets’ defense which continues to be a story as the trade deadline approaches.
Carolina Dominates Second Period as Jets Collapse
It wasn’t until the ten-minute mark of the second period that Martin Necas solved Connor Hellebuyck to put the Hurricanes up 1-0. Just before Necas’ goal, Samberg would get a clean shot from the point on Pyotr Kochetkov, but the Hurricanes netminder kept it out of the back of the net and was scoreless at that point.
Necas’ goal was a great snapshot that beat Hellebuyck low to gain the lead. Following Necas’ goal, the Jets provided some pushback. The only issue the Jets had was attempting to solve Kochetkov. Later in the second period, Sebastian Aho would find Teuvo Teravainen who was positioned perfectly just above the hash marks. Teravainen wired home a wrist shot just above Hellebuyck’s right shoulder to make it 2-0.
Following Teravainen’s goal, Sebastian Aho would put the Hurricanes up 3-0 on the power play. Aho found himself on the rush with Andrei Svechnikov and both Hurricanes forwards would lose the Jets penalty killers while rushing the net. Svechnikov would feed Aho who was positioned at the low point of the left circle, just above Hellebuyck’s left pad coverage and Aho tapped his goal to make it 3-0. When it seemed the game was lost and out of reach for the Jets, Rick Bowness brought out the line blender and reunited Nikolaj Ehlers with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele.
Jets Score Five Unanswered Goals to Beat Carolina
Heading into the third period, the Winnipeg Jets were down three goals and needed something to swing in their favour. The second-period ambush by Carolina saw the Hurricanes score three times in nine minutes. This was a mark the Jets decided they were going to do better.
Just 96 seconds into the third period, Nikolaj Ehlers drew three defenders to cover him and attempt to strip him of the puck on the boards. Ehlers recognized the pressure that Carolina was applying to him and made a great pass to Kyle Connor who made a one-timer past Kochetkov to cut the lead down to just two goals. This gave the life to the Jets that they desperately needed in the first two periods, and they weren’t done.
Nate Schmidt and Nino Neiderreiter would make a beautiful give-and-go play. Schmidt was caught in the trapezoid and made a pass in front of the net to Neiderreiter leading to the Jets’ second goal. The Jets were even more fired up after this goal, add to the fact that Michael Bunting was assessed a penalty for high-sticking, and the Jets had a massive opportunity to tie the game. The power play wasn’t great until the Monahan acquisition, in a crucial moment like this, fans were collectively holding their breath during the Jets’ power play.
All it would take was 28 seconds into the power play and a gutsy effort from Josh Morrissey. Morrissey had two Hurricanes defenders on him and still got the puck up to Mark Scheifele who was free from any defenders. Morrissey completed the pass and Mark Scheifele walked into the slot to tie the game. Carolina scored their three goals in nine minutes, but the Jets decided they wanted to do better and scored their three goals in 4:04.
Just like that, Carolina’s three-goal lead ceased to exist. Late in the third period, Pyotr Kochetkov was caught out of the net and Sean Monahan would give the Jets the go-ahead goal. Monahan’s seventh goal since joining the Winnipeg Jets marked his 20th goal of the season. Kochetkov couldn’t have given Monahan a better gift in Raleigh. With 11 seconds left in the game, Nino Neiderreiter scored his second of the game on an empty net goal to make it 5-3 and seal the Jets win. The Jets went from not in a position to win entering the third period to tying the game in just 4:04.
Winnipeg Jets Post Game
Post Game Stats
With the Jets rebounding after Thursday’s loss to Dallas, they improve their win-loss record to 38-16-5.
Nino Neiderreiter recorded the only multi-goal game with two goals, including the game-winning goal. Meanwhile, Josh Morrissey extended his assist streak to six games, Morrissey recorded three assists against Carolina and was crucial in the Jets’ third-period comeback victory over Carolina.
With the Jets winning against Carolina, they are tied for first in the Central Division with Dallas. Winnipeg has three games in hand to obtain sole possession of first in the Central Division.
