Key Takeaways
- The Winnipeg Jets scored six unanswered goals to turn a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 win over the Dallas Stars.
- Mark Scheifele and Dawson Mercer scored twice each, and Kyle Connor added his 16th goal of the season.
- Stuart Skinner made 30 saves for Winnipeg; Dallas starter Jake Oettinger was pulled early in the third period after allowing six goals.
Down 3-2 in the second. Winners by five.
Midway through the second period in Dallas, the Winnipeg Jets were losing a game they had already had to rescue once. Dallas had led 2-0 on goals by Arttu Hyry and Roope Hintz; Winnipeg tied it through Dylan Samberg and Mark Scheifele; David Perron put the Stars back in front 3-2. Then the game broke open.
Dawson Mercer tied it at 13:55 of the second. Scheifele scored his second on a power play. Mercer scored again with nine seconds left in the period. Kyle Connor made it 6-3 one minute into the third — and that was the end of Jake Oettinger's night. Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Koepke scored 14 seconds apart deep in the third to finish the rout: six unanswered goals, an 8-3 final.
The numbers underneath
Scheifele (two goals, one assist) was the first star, Mercer (two goals) the second, and Connor (one goal, two assists) the third — Connor's goal was his 16th of the season. Stuart Skinner made 30 saves on 33 shots for Winnipeg. Oettinger stopped 21 of 27 before being pulled; Casey DeSmith allowed two goals on three shots in relief. Dallas actually outshot Winnipeg 33-30.
The win lifts Winnipeg to 9-8-3; Dallas drops to 10-6-2.
The Twikup Take
Eight goals on 30 shots is partly a hot night. Six straight after trailing on the road, against a team ahead of you in the standings, is not. The Jets' middle six — Mercer twice, Samberg, Koepke — did as much damage as the stars, and that depth is what has been missing from Winnipeg's up-and-down start.
Image: NHL hockey game between the Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken in Seattle on March 8, 2024 by Jenn G, CC BY-SA 2.0.