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The Winnipeg Jets mounted a spirited comeback from two goals down on Thursday night but ultimately fell short, losing 4-3 in overtime to the Chicago Blackhawks. Despite outshooting Chicago 34-28 across the full game, the Jets could not hold on after tying the score late in the third period.
Early Penalties Hurt Winnipeg
The game began badly for the Jets. Cole Perfetti nearly opened the scoring in the first minute, but his tip of a Dylan DeMelo point shot rang off the post.
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From there, Winnipeg’s penalty troubles began. Adam Lowry drew a roughing call just 1:16 into the game. Only 17 seconds later, Teuvo Teravainen hooked Morgan Barron. DeMelo and Sam Rinzel then received offsetting minors at 2:39.
The most damaging penalties came from Jack St. Ivany and Mario Ferraro, called 45 seconds apart. Together, those infractions gave Chicago an extended 5-on-3 advantage. Just two seconds before St. Ivany was due to return to the ice, the Blackhawks capitalized.
Connor Bedard, playing in only his second game of the season after returning from an offseason shoulder injury, ripped a wrist shot from the slot past goaltender Stuart Skinner at 8:11. It was the captain’s first goal of the year.
The Jets killed off the remainder of the power play, but Chicago struck again at 15:10. St. Ivany fired a wrist shot from the right point, and Spencer Knight stopped it with his blocker. The puck bounced into the neutral zone, where Frank Nazar collected it. Nazar sped past St. Ivany and beat Skinner on the rush to make it 2-0.
Winnipeg responded at 16:57. A Neal Pionk point shot deflected off Chicago defenseman Ethan Del Mastro’s stick and sailed over Knight’s shoulder to cut the deficit to one. However, just 14 seconds later, Ryan Donato restored Chicago’s two-goal lead. He skated inside the Winnipeg blueline, cut to the middle, and waited out Pionk before firing a shot that grazed the post and went in. Chicago outshot the Jets 14-8 in the first period.
Jets Take Control in the Second Period
Winnipeg flipped the script in the second period. The Jets controlled play for most of the frame and outshot Chicago 13-6.
On the power play, Mark Scheifele worked the puck down low and waited patiently for an opening. He threaded a pass through traffic to Kyle Connor at the opposite faceoff dot. Connor danced briefly before firing a shot five-hole on Knight for his eighth goal of the season, making it 3-2.
Chicago nearly extended their lead on a bizarre sequence. A blocked shot in the Blackhawks’ end bounced back down the ice, sending Bedard and Skinner racing for the puck. Skinner reached it first but inexplicably passed it backward directly to Bedard. Caught off guard, Bedard shot wide of the open net from a narrowing angle. The score remained 3-2 heading into the third.
Jets Tie It Late, But Lose in Overtime
Winnipeg tied the game at 5:39 of the third period. Pionk fired a point shot that appeared to be heading wide, but Alex Iafallo redirected it with his stick. The puck then deflected off Iafallo’s foot and into the net for his second goal of the season.
Shortly after, Connor nearly gave the Jets their first lead of the night. He rang a shot from the slot off the post, but the puck stayed out.
The rest of the third period was open and fast-paced, with both teams creating chances. Neither side scored, however, and the game moved to overtime.
In the extra period, Pionk had a strong chance to win it. He tried to finish off a Scheifele pass in tight but was denied by Knight. About a minute later, Chicago ended the game. Bedard skated through the slot, drawing defenders before dropping the puck to Artyom Levshunov. Levshunov had plenty of time and space. He loaded up and buried a wrist shot past Skinner just 97 seconds into overtime.
Skinner finished with 24 saves in the loss. The Jets now return home to face the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday afternoon.
