Jets squander a two-goal lead early in the third period to leave a thrilling 5-4 overtime loss to the Ducks

The Jets defeated the last-place Canucks 3-2 on the road in Vancouver on Wednesday night. The Jets fought the entire match in the style they wanted before a goal from Cole Perfetti OT led them to victory. Tonight the Jets played their second of three consecutive road games after returning from the Olympic break in Anaheim against the Ducks. With just a week before the NHL trade deadline, plenty of scouts from across the NHL were in attendance as they kept their eyes on potential trade targets for the Jets. The 23-26-8 Jets took on the 31-23-3 Ducks with both teams looking for two points in this Western Conference matchup.

There were a few notable changes to the Jets line combinations tonight, as several players were cycled back into the lineup as more players returned from the break, while some remained injured. Gustav Nyquist was on the 3rd line with Jonathan Toews and Vladislav Namestnikov. Tanner Pearson was on the 4th line with Cole Koepke and Morgan Barron. Logan Stanley remained on the top defensive pairing with Dylan DeMelo while Morrissey sat out, and Ville Heinola remained on the third pairing after making his Jets season debut last game.

Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal, as Hellebuyck made his first start since returning from his gold medal performance in Italy at the Olympics. The Jets lineup continues to deal with several injuries, including Nino Niederreiter, who was added to the injury report yesterday. Hellebuyck came into tonight’s game with a 13-16-7 record, a 2.79 GAA and a .900 SV%. Tonight’s game started pretty well for the Jets, but in the end it was the Ducks who won 5-4 late in overtime, after erasing a two-goal deficit (in a win) for the ninth time this regular season.

1st Period

Tonight’s game started with the Jets scoring on their first shot of the game just 84 seconds after the puck was dropped. Dylan Samberg entered the Ducks zone and dropped the puck to Cole Perfetti. Without wasting any time, Perfetti made a nice cross-ice pass to Alex Iafallo, who fired the puck past Lukas Dostal for his tenth goal of the season.

Logan Stanley took the first penalty of the game about three minutes later, but the Jets stopped the first power play of the night. The Ducks started to get some scoring chances of their own after this opening goal and the shots on goal after 10 minutes were only 4 to 2 for the Ducks.

A few minutes later, Luke Schenn and Ross Johnston dropped the gloves in a heavyweight tilt. This game had its fair share of physicality early on, and this fight only revved up both teams’ early energy. Olen Zellweger took a tripping penalty on Gabriel Vilardi, sending the Jets to their first power play of the night with about 6 minutes left in the 1st. The Jets had some quality chances and hit a few posts, but this game remained tied at 1-0 until late in the first inning.

Shots on goal after the first twenty minutes of play were 9-7 for the Jets as both teams continued to push for the next important goal.

2nd Period

The Jets got an early power play in the 2nd after Pavel Mintyukov was called for hooking Adam Lowry. Less than a minute into the man advantage, Logan Stanley found Kyle Connor at the faceoff point, and Connor waited and found Gabriel Vilardi in the slot. Vilardi fired a snap from the top corner that quickly went in and out of the net, and the Jets now had a 2-0 lead on Vilardi’s 23rd goal of the season.

Now that they had scored two goals, the Jets started to settle into this game as the second period progressed. Hellebuyck looked sharp in his first game back from the Olympics and did more than his share to keep the Jets in the lead for most of this game. Shots on target at half-way level tied the score at 17.

The Ducks continued to push for their first goal of the evening, but Hellebuyck remained perfect. With 41 seconds left in the 2nd, the Ducks finally got on the board thanks to a Jacob Trouba point shot. After a scramble in front, Ian Moore and Tim Washe got the puck back to the point, where Trouba fired a wrist shot past a crowd in front and behind Hellebuyck to make it 2-1.

Late in the 2nd, the Ducks had some momentum going into the 3rd, but the Jets held onto a 2-1 lead. The Ducks had a slight edge in shots on goal after 40 minutes, outscoring the Jets 24-22. It was ‘anyone’s game’ going into the 3rd, and the Jets would look to respond to the Ducks’ strong finishing push at the end of the 2nd.

3rd Period

The third period started exactly as the first started for the Jets, with an early goal. This time it was just 87 seconds after the puck dropped when Elias Salomonsson scored his first career NHL goal. Alex Iafallo and Adam Lowry set up Salomonsson at the point, and after collecting the puck, Salomonsson made no mistake and fired a shot that Dostal didn’t have much of a chance to save.

As in the first period, the Ducks began to fight back after a Jets goal, and about four minutes later, Tanner Pearson took a tripping penalty. After the Ducks were drafted, Beckett Sennecke and Jackson LaCombe created a battle for Hellebuyck. Leo Carlsson was there to retrieve the puck from LaCombe’s deflection, and he quickly slid it past Hellebuyck for his twentieth goal of the season, cutting the Jets’ lead to just one.

The Ducks didn’t give up without a fight tonight. As the TSN broadcast noted shortly after, the Ducks have battled back to win this season after trailing by two goals eight times this season. A few minutes after these words were spoken, the Ducks tied the game at three apiece. Drew Helleson and Beckett Sennecke set up a rebound for Pavel Mintyukov in front, which was fired into the open half of the net.

With just over 5 minutes left, Tim Washe took a hooking penalty, giving the Jets a late power play. Moments after the power play ended, Ryan Poehling scored his sixth goal of the season after a fantastic individual effort set up shortly before by Mintyukov and Killorn.

The momentum was now almost all in the Ducks’ favor, and it was now time for the Jets to fight back. With about 2 minutes left, the Jets pulled the goalie. The Jets’ top players were drafted, and soon after, Logan Stanley and Cole Perfetti put Kyle Connor in a prime shooting spot, and he quickly fired one past Dostal for his 27th goal of the season, bringing this wild game to 4.

In a match that started off quite physical and without many scoring opportunities, this match intensified dramatically in the final frame. After 60 minutes, this match remained tied at 4, with the Ducks still slightly ahead in shots on target department, 35-30.

Overtime

With how the end of the third period unfolded, you had a feeling this was going to be a tense 3 on 3 overtime. Teams traded chances as overtime started at a fast pace. This was the Jets’ second straight game with overtime, so you could tell they had a plan for these extra five minutes. It looked like this game was headed to a shootout, but with just 13 seconds left, the Ducks scored on their fifth overtime shot.

Beckett Sennecke rushed into the Jets zone and after a chance up front, Chris Kreider collected a rebound and slid the puck past Hellebuyck for his twentieth goal of the season. The Ducks erased a two-goal deficit for the ninth time this regular season as they battled back from 3-1 to win this match 5-4 in overtime. The final shots on goal were 40-33 for the Ducks, while the Jets leave Anaheim with one point.

Next

The Jets now travel to San Jose tomorrow to prepare for their final game of this three-game road trip. Their regular season schedule continues at SAP Center with a game against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop for this game will take place just after 3:00 PM CT. Stay up to date with all the latest Jets news (including the upcoming trade deadline), plus previews and recaps of every Jets game this season, right here at Jets Nation.

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