The Winnipeg Jets ended a nine-game losing streak in stunning fashion Tuesday night, erasing a four-goal deficit and defeating the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 on Dylan Samberg's overtime goal.
Montreal appeared to have the game secured when Cole Caufield scored 46 seconds into the third period, his second goal of the night and 10th of the season, giving the Canadiens a 4-0 lead.
Winnipeg then produced a rally for the record books, scoring four times in a span of 2 minutes, 8 seconds. Kyle Connor tied it on the power play with 32 seconds left in regulation, his second goal of the game.
The comeback began at the 57:21 mark, making it the latest four-goal comeback in NHL history. The previous mark belonged to the Los Angeles Kings, who started their rally at 52:46 on Nov. 10, 2007.
Tyrel Bauer and Morgan Barron got the surge going, spoiling Montreal goaltender Jacob Fowler's shutout bid. The burst was also the fastest four goals in Jets franchise history, surpassing four goals in 2:16 set on Nov. 9, 1984. The win came two days after Winnipeg was routed 7-0 by the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
Stuart Skinner finished with 18 saves for the Jets, while Mark Scheifele and Dylan DeMelo each recorded two assists. Looking for a spark, Winnipeg reunited its top line of Scheifele, Connor and Gabriel Vilardi, and the Jets poured shots on Fowler before finally breaking through late.
Owen Beck and Josh Anderson also scored for Montreal, and Juraj Slafkovsky added two assists. Fowler stopped 42 shots in the loss. On Beck's goal, Arber Xhekaj and Florian Xhekaj became the first brothers to record a point on the same Canadiens goal since Andrei Kostitsyn and Sergei Kostitsyn did it on Jan. 17, 2009.
The Canadiens again played without captain Nick Suzuki, who missed his sixth consecutive game with a hand injury. Suzuki had played 546 straight regular-season games to open his NHL career, but he appears close to returning after practicing without any obvious limitations Monday and again Tuesday morning.
