On Sunday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Lightning made their lone visit to Canada Life Centre.
Winnipeg had seven different goal scorers, with Dylan Samberg ultimately getting the winner midway through the third period.
Those hoping for the all-star goaltending showdown between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck were disappointed, as the Bolts opted to go with Jonas Johansson in net.
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Further to the disappointment was Hellebuyck’s performance in the opening eight minutes, to which he and the Jets gave up two quick goals, both as a result of what should have been a goaltender interference call on local product Conor Geekie (Strathclair, MB.).
With Geekie laying on top of Hellebuyck, Brandon Hagel fired his seventh of the season into the wide open net, making it 1-0 6:49 in.
As he should, head coach Scott Arniel challenged for goaltender interference, but for reasons unknown, the goal stood, with Winnipeg also being penalized for delay of game.
The ensuing Bolts power play added another to the lead. Nikita Kucherov fed Brayden Point, who put home his eighth of the season, making it 2-0 just 8:02 into the game – with both goals being a direct result of the goaltender interference non-call.
With seven-and-a-half minutes left, Josh Morrissey capitalized on a brutal Tampa turnover, as he grabbed the loose puck and found Vlad Namestnikov, who one-timed the puck home, cutting the visitors’ lead to 2-1.
Winnipeg led 11-9 on the shot chart through 20 minutes, but trailed 2-1 where it mattered.
The middle stanza was a different story, however, as the Jets responded with two back-to-back strikes.
First, it was Logan Stanley who fired a long-range wrist through through a crowd, finishing off a strong play by Nikolaj Ehlers – who moved into a tie with Frans Nielsen for most points by a Danish-born player (473).
Then, less than two minutes later, Mark Scheifele and Gabe Vilardi teamed up for a pretty two-on-one passing play, with Scheifele putting the finishing touches on another brutal turnover – this time by Ryan McDonagh.
But then, just after fans found their seats, Tampa Bay snuck one through Hellebuyck on its first shot of the period nearly nine minutes in. Jake Guentzel found Mitchell Chaffee, who beat the stud goaltender from across the ice.
Through 40 minutes of play, the Jets pulled even at 3-3 with the visitors, while maintaining a 22-14 lead on the shot chart.
Stanley got things going early in the third period with a thunderous hit on Luke Glendening. The play resulted in an instigator minor to Zemgus Girgensons, who fought Stanley right after the play.
“Right, that’s kind of how it’s going,” Stanley said of fighting after the clean hit. “Girgensons there, I have a lot of respect for him. He’s been in the league a long time and is sticking up for his teammates. I would do the same.”
Alex Iafallo scored on the ensuing power play – his first of the season – giving the Jets a 4-3 lead.
“Power play has been great all year. Again tonight,” Stanley added. “And that was a big goal for us. Nice we can capitalize on those to help get a big win.”
But shortly after, Vlad Namestnikov and Connor Hellebuyck got their signals crossed, to which Nikita Kucherov easily poked a puck off Nemestnikov’s stick and into the net, tying the game at fours.
But as was the case all game, the Jets got one back right away.
This time it was Dylan Samberg, who set a new career-high with his third goal of the season, scoring on a long range wrist shot through a Mark Scheifele screen with half a period left to play.
Ehlers got the insurance marker with an empty net late in the game, making things 6-4, to which he set the NHL record for most points (474) by a player from Denmark.
Hellebuyck finished the night with 26 saves on 30 shots against, while Johansson made 27 stops on the 32 pucks fired his way.
Next up for Winnipeg is the continuation of the four-game homestand, to which the Jets will face three-straight Central Division rivals in a period of six days. First up is the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM central.
