Kyle Connor scored twice, including the late game-winning goal, to lead the visiting Winnipeg Jets to a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
The Jets snapped their five-game losing skid.
Paul Stastny and Andrew Copp also scored, and Blake Wheeler collected two assists for the Jets. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck turned in a stellar 34-save performance, 16 of them in the third period, en route to erasing a two-goal deficit.
The Flames had all of the third-period momentum until Connor broke the tie with 4:51 remaining in regulation. Off an odd-man rush, he one-timed a top-corner, short-side shot for his 14th goal of the season.
Copp added an empty net goal, which snapped a 13-game drought, to round out the scoring.
Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm replied for the Flames, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped and lost in regulation for the first time in eight games. Goalie Jacob Markstrom stopped 24 shots. Johnny Gaudreau set up both goals that staked the hosts to a 2-0 lead to give him 10 points (5-5-10) in a six-game point streak.
Tkachuk’s goal 26 seconds into the clash sent the Flames off and running. Following a face-off in the offensive zone, Gaudreau sent a blind pass to the far post and Tkachuk converted for his 10th goal of the season.
It marked the second time in as many nights the Jets fell behind in the opening minute and the 17th time in their 21 games that Calgary has scored first.
Lindholm’s power-play goal doubled the lead. Hellebuyck stopped a deflected point shot but Lindholm chipped home the rebound for his ninth tally of the campaign, extending his point-scoring streak to seven games.
The Jets responded, starting with Connor’s first of the night. After throwing the puck to the front of the net, he found it during a scramble and converted with 3:34 remaining in the period.
Then Stastny tied the game five minutes into the second period with his fifth goal of the season. A point shot was stopped but Stastny buried the rebound to make it a 2-2 affair.
Flames forward Milan Lucic was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for a hit on Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo late in the second period. DeMelo returned to the game.
–Field Level Media