Winnipeg Jets blow two-goal lead before downing Blackhawks 4-3 in OT – Winnipeg

After picking up arguably their biggest win of the season in Colorado on Saturday, the Winnipeg Jets had a chance to move within a point of a playoff spot in Chicago Tuesday night.

Things looked dicey for a while but, in the end, the Jets picked up two precious points thanks to a 4-3 overtime win over the Blackhawks, pulling within one point of the idle Nashville Predators for eighth place in the Western Conference.

The Jets were on their heels for much of the first period, but took the game over in the second, outshooting the Hawks 15-2 in getting out to a two-goal lead, but Chicago tied the game in the third before Kyle Connor sniped the overtime winner.

“That game – a tail of two tapes for me,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “I think the first period we weren’t ready to go in a sense that Chicago came out and really got after us. They doubled up chances against but the second period we dominated and we responded. That was a huge goal by (Josh) Morrissey and then obviously getting the 3-1 lead was real helpful.

“The third period was a little bit more of a saw off. When you have a lead like that you want to keep it.”

Mark Scheifele recorded three assists to give him a four-game point streak. He made a great setup on Connor’s game winner just 33 seconds into the extra frame.

“The control he has to put it right in the wheelhouse for KC,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “It’s something we get to see every day. I think it goes a little unnoticed if you just watch him in games.”

Morrissey, Cole Perfetti and Isak Rosén also scored for Winnipeg in the win. Connor, Morrissey and Perfetti all extended their point-streaks to five games.

It’s their ninth win in the month of March which is a season-best and they have at least a point in eight of their last ten games, including wins in four of their last five games.

“We have no quit in this locker room,” said Morrissey. “The guys had a great Olympic break and everything from what we were working on, what the coaches brought out for us, competitiveness. I think it just set the tone coming out of that break. And just really proud of the way we battled.”

What was an 11-point deficit to make the playoffs only a month ago has now been chopped down to just a single point with eight games left.

“We just said take care of our own business and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Arniel said. “We got ourselves here, but we can’t take our foot off the gas. It doesn’t get any easier going into Dallas and then Columbus. So, a lot of heavy lifting still to go and we got to make sure that we continue to do those things that keep us in games that give us a chance to win.”

The Blackhawks controlled play for the bulk of the first, taking a 1-0 lead into the intermission but it could have been a lot worse for Winnipeg if not for the play of Connor Hellebuyck.

He was forced to make several big saves in the opening 20 minutes with Chicago getting numerous good looks in transition, but the Hawks were able to get one past him thanks to their youngest player.

Chicago had the Jets chasing the puck in their own end, leading to a point shot from Louis Crevier that badly missed the net. But it ricocheted to the side of the crease for Ilya Mikheyev, who poked it to the slot where Anton Frondell wired it through Hellebuyck at the 4:42 mark.

It was the first NHL goal for the 3rd overall pick in the 2025 draft, playing in his fifth NHL game.

Chicago wound up outshooting the Jets 9-6 in the first, and if Winnipeg wanted to pick up the two points, they were going to have to overcome a rough trend: entering the night, the Jets had just three wins all season when trailing after 20 minutes.

But it was clear early in the second period that the Jets were going to do everything in their power to buck that trend.

It started with a fantastic play by Morrissey, who got the puck at the left point in Chicago’s end, skated down the wall around Frondell then cut in from the corner, skated in front of the net and deposited a shot past Spencer Knight to tie the game just 66 seconds into the period.

The game stayed tied past the midway point even though Winnipeg was dominating possession, resulting in the first power play look of the game for the Jets.

It figured to be a tough task for Winnipeg, as their power play has been woeful since the Olympic break and Chicago’s penalty kill is the stingiest in the league.

But thanks to an overly aggressive shorthanded rush, the Blackhawks gave up a 2-on-1 late in the man advantage and Winnipeg capitalized to take the lead.

Landon Slaggert had the puck inside the Winnipeg blue line and tried to centre it to Teuvo Teravainen, but it hit the skate of Scheifele and drifted into the neutral zone where Alex Iafallo picked it up.

He carried it into the Chicago zone on a 2-on-1 before sending a perfect pass across to Perfetti that he buried past Knight with 13 seconds left in the power play and 8:41 to go in the period.

Just 38 seconds later, Winnipeg doubled their lead. After the Jets won an offensive zone draw, Neal Pionk rimmed the puck down along the boards. Danny Zhilkin collected the puck behind the net, took it in front and tried to stuff it through Knight but the puck careened off Knight’s left pad and right to Rosén in the slot, who fired it off the post and in for his second as a Jet.

Chicago drew back within one at the 13:26 mark with their first shot on goal of the period. Elias Salomonsson had the puck in his own end and passed it across to Jacob Bryson, who whiffed on the reception and got hit by Mikheyev, allowing Tyler Bertuzzi to grab the puck. He skated towards the net before cutting into the slot and sending a backhander on goal that eluded Hellebuyck to make it 3-2.

It was one of just two shots the Blackhawks got on net in the frame, with the final shot total favouring Winnipeg 15-2.

The Jets took their first penalty of the night just over four minutes into the third when Perfetti was called for holding and 57 seconds into the penalty, Cole Koepke was called for tripping, giving the Blackhawks a golden opportunity to tie the game.

But a slumping Chicago power play, with just one goal on 26 tries over their last nine games, was unable to get the job done.

The Blackhawks did not sag after failing on the 5-on-3, however, tying the game just a few minutes later.

It came as Chicago had the puck in Winnipeg’s end for a lengthy shift. A wrist shot from the left point sailed wide and rimmed around the boards to Crevier at the left point. He sent it back around the boards for Mikheyev behind the net, who passed it to a wide-open Bertuzzi in front for a tap-in goal with 10:14 remaining.

Chicago dominated the third, pouring all kinds of pressure on the Jets but they were unable to find the back of the net before the final horn despite outshooting Winnipeg 10-2 in the period.

Breathing a sigh of relief to pick up one point, the Jets doubled up thanks to a quick overtime session. After the Blackhawks poked the puck out of their own end, Scheifele got it back in the neutral zone and drifted into the Chicago end.

He carried it to the faceoff dot to Knight’s left before sending it to a streaking Connor, who steered it home for his 34th of the season and 14th career regular season overtime goal.

Hellebuyck made 18 saves to get the win, while Scheifele broke 90 points for the first time in his NHL career.

Winnipeg will look to continue to climb the standings when they visit the Dallas Stars Thursday night. The puck drops just after 7 p.m. with pregame coverage on 680 CJOB beginning around 5:15 p.m.