Winnipeg knew it would have to compete for a defenseman in the coming weeks Josh Morrissey sidelined by an upper body injury while he was forward Nino Niederreiter and defender Neal Pionk are from week to week. The Jets were also without a star netminder Connor Hellebuyckwho has yet to return from the Olympic Games.
Vancouver opened the scoring just 1:58 into the game with the first shot. Logan Stanley‘s clearing attempt was intercepted by Brock Boeserwho held and found the puck Drew O’Connor only in the left circle. O’Connor defeated Jets goalie Erik Comrie five-hole for his 14th of the year.
Winnipeg responded just past the middle of the opening frame. Mark Scheifele controlled the puck behind the Canucks net and made a backhand pass to Kyle Connor on the side of the fold. Connor, fresh off winning Olympic gold, quickly switched from backhand to forehand and beat Nikita Tolopilo for his 26th of the campaign.
The match remained tied at 1-1 after 20 minutes, with Winnipeg holding an 8-7 advantage in shots.
Former Jet Evander Kane restored Vancouver’s lead just 38 seconds into the second period and scored his 10th of the season. Elias Pettersson won a face-off in the offensive zone back to Kane, who made a wrist shot from the left circle past Comrie’s shoulder to make it 2-1.
After the early goal, the Jets took control of the middle frame and defeated the Canucks 13-4.
Gabriel Vilardi tied the game at 6:45 p.m., redirecting Scheifele’s pass from the bottom of the right circle over Tolopilo’s path for his 22nd of the season.
The script flipped in the third period as Winnipeg was outscored 11-3. However, Comrie held his own to force extra time.
Despite trailing by double digits, the Jets completed the comeback with a 3-2 victory in overtime. Cole Perfetti fired a rebound high off Tolopilo’s blocker after the Vancouver goaltender changed direction Adam Lowry‘s centering attempt in the slot. Perfetti made no mistake, scoring his first career extra-time winner and seventh goal of the season.
Comrie finished with 21 saves, while Scheifele recorded two assists as Winnipeg improved to 23-26-8.
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