Winnipeg surrendered the opening goal for the fourth straight game 5:20 into the first period. Dylan Guenther fired a shot that hit the end boards and bounced back in front off the stick of Lawson Crouse, who fired in his ninth of the season to make it 1-0 Utah.
JJ Peterka made it 2-0 Mammoth at 9:31. Clayton Keller, sitting in the right corner, centered a pass in the Jets’ crease and Peterka tapped it in for his 14th.
Utah led 2-0 after 20 minutes and had a 7-5 edge in shots.
Things started to get uglier for the Jets when Utah’s Alex Kerfoot made it 3-0 at 3:01 of the second period with his first of the season, a sequence in which all five Mammoth skaters touched the puck in the offensive zone.
Kyle Connor gave the Jets some life at 11:18. Mark Scheifele set him up for a one-timer on the power play, and Connor beat Karel Vejmelka for his 16th of the season and 300th NHL goal.
Kyle Connor (16) gets the #NHLJets on the board on the power play 11:18 into the second period with his 300th NHL goal! 🎥 – TSN | #NHLJetsNation
After 40 minutes, Utah still had a two-goal lead and led the shots 15-13.
Connor pulled the Jets within one with his second of the game at 15:23. Josh Morrissey sent the star forward into the right corner, and Connor one-timed an unreal shot past Vejmelka for his 17th of the season.
Just 25 seconds later, Tanner Pearson spotted Morgan Barron sneaking behind the Utah defense and sliding him a pass down low. Barron broke in alone and beat Vejmelka’s glove side for his seventh goal and second in as many games to make it 3–3.
AFRAID TO LINKING IT ‼️
After 60 minutes between the two division rivals, extra time was needed.
Just 13 seconds into the extra frame, Clayton Keller ended it when he and Guenther broke out in a 2-on-1. Guenther slid a pass to Keller, who fired a shot over Connor Hellebuyck’s shoulder from an impossible angle to hand Winnipeg its fourth straight loss.
Hellebuyck stopped 18 shots and the Jets entered the Christmas break with a 15-17-3 record.
“We got better in the second and certainly dominated in the third. But at the end of the day, you can’t play two periods in this league and expect to have success.” head coach Scott Arniel said after the game. “For me, that’s 35 games with inconsistency in the games themselves or perhaps individual players. In the other 47 that has to change.”
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