The Winnipeg Jets win seventh straight game in dramatic fashion with 4-3 overtime win over the Seattle Kraken
The Winnipeg Jets win seventh straight game in dramatic fashion with 4-3 overtime win over the Seattle Kraken
The Winnipeg Jets win their seventh straight as they beat the Seattle Kraken 4-3 in overtime. The game was tightly contested throughout with the Kraken making a late push, tying the game with three minutes left in the third period to send the game to overtime. The Jets extend their record to 7-0-0 while the Kraken draw a point and advance to 4-3-1 on the season.
It was a tough start to the game as the Kraken were able to generate high-quality chances off the rush, breaking out and into the Jets zone and saw most of the momentum swing in their way with multiple odd man rushes and high-danger shot attempts through first ten minutes.
The game was tilted in Seattle's favor until a broken play entering the Jets zone saw the puck kick out to Kraken forward Matty Beniers. The 2023 Calder Trophy Winner positioned himself at the top of the face-off dot and picks his corner with a top right snipe that beats Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck for the game's first goal.
The Jets had found themselves in a similar spot Tuesday when falling behind a goal early versus the Blues before coming back for a 3-2 victory. Things got hairy however, as Winnipeg defenceman Dylan DeMelo was too physical in front of his own net and was called on a interference penalty and now put the Jets on their heels just 13 minutes into the game.
Winnipeg battled back some of the momentum with the penalty kill and some hard fought scoring chances from the fourth line but couldn't even the score after 20 minutes. They started off the second period on a better note with a few chances off the rush, including a scoring chance that saw Seattle's Joey Daccord robbing Neal Pionk on a cross crease pad save to keep the Kraken ahead.
The Jets stayed busy with a quick break-in that saw Mason Appleton throw a shot on net with linemate Nino Niederreiter in mind as he sees him sneaking towards the back door behind Daccord for a tap in scoring chance. Daccord makes a save but deflects the puck off the incoming Niederreiter, who redirects the puck into the back of the net, tying the game at one all.
Both teams trade chances but the Kraken catch the Jets changing lines and rush the other way, quickly work a pass across the crease for Seattle's Oliver Bjorkstrand, who scores on an open net caused by Yanni Gourde occupying Hellebuyck's crease. Seattle's go-ahead goal gets called back after a coaches challenge by Winnipeg's Scott Arniel for goaltender interference.
Winnipeg responded late in the second, when star winger Kyle Connor makes a crucial play by lifting the stick of a Kraken defenseman before exiting the offensive zone and dishing it to Mark Scheifele. He finds an open Gabe Vilardi, who finds an open lane and skates across the net before sliding the puck past Daccord for the go-ahead goal, putting the Jets up 2-1 late in the second period.
Daccord and Hellebuyck duelled throughout the second with a handful of stellar saves on each end with the two netminders making 15 and 8 saves in the period respectively. After 40 minutes, both teams were tied with 22 shots each after Seattle outshot Winnipeg 12 to 7 in the first period.
The Jets started to settle into their game during the third with a goal following the power play that saw the Kraken pay too close attention to a high-flying Neal Pionk entering the zone, who fires a pass to Niederreiter on the opposite end. With Seattle's defence drown out and left scrambling, Niederreiter waits out the crowd and fires it past Daccord into a wide open net for his second goal of the game.
The Kraken don't give up easily and take advantage of a neutral zone turnover to apply pressure on the Jets as they break into the Winnipeg's end, where forward Jared McCann finds a streaking Jordan Eberle. The former first overall pick surprises Hellebuyck with a quick backhand shot and puts it past him, making it a one score game.
The Kraken continued grinding away at the Jets and with three minutes left, Montour fires a shot from the blueline along the ice for a quick tip and finds Matty Beniers, who redirects the puck perfectly in the bottom corner and past Hellebuyck.
The game remained tied after 60 minutes and the Beniers goal extended the game into overtime. Both teams traded chances but a delayed penalty by the Kraken sees the Jets get an extra man in Nikolji Ehlers, who skates into the zone and takes a quick shot on net that sneaks past Daccord for the game-winning goal.
It was another big game for Nino Niederreiter, who scored two more goals in the win and marked his fourth goal in his last three games. Star forwards Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor helped generate offence for the Jets as they each finished with a pair of assists. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made several difference-making saves, recording 29 saves on 32 shots and earning the win. The Jets look to make it eight straight wins when travelling to Alberta to take on the Flames Saturday night.