In Winnipeg, the visiting Seattle Kraken scored twice in the third period to overcome a 3-2 deficit to the Jets en route to a 4-3 win on Tuesday night.
Tomas Tartar scored 25 seconds after the Jets had taken a 3-2 lead in the third. His goal at 1:42 of the third came off a tip in.
“We’ve been playing really good hockey over the past few weeks,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We came into this road trip disappointed coming off a loss to Edmonton (on Saturday), but the reality is we played really well that night. We’ve just carried that through into the road trip with two good, hard-fought road wins, and obviously tonight there’s a lot of pieces to this game.
“But it comes down to, you work hard to overcome some of your mistakes. You make plays at the right time and get contributions from everybody in your lineup, and we were able to do that both nights on this trip.”
The Kraken’s Andre Burakovsky scored with 2:39 left on the game clock for the 4-3 final.
“It felt very good,” Burakovsky said. “It’s been a battle. With all the injuries and the missed time, I think I’ve been playing some really good hockey lately, creating a lot and skating a lot. I’ve kind of had the post out all the time, and it was nice to finally see one go in. I almost forgot what it feels like, so it’s really nice.”
Joey Daccord made 30 saves in the win.
The Kraken moved to 28-23-11 off their seventh win in the last 10 matches.
“I’m extremely happy for him, too,” Tatar said of Burakovsky . “He worked hard. He played a very [good] game and he had a few opportunities, and the goal couldn’t come at a better time than he scored.”
Seattle’s Justin Schultz opened the scoring just ahead of the midway point of the opening stanza with a goal from the low slot and 1-0 lead to the Kraken.
“That play in particular, we weren’t giving up a whole lot, but we hadn’t generated anything at that point in time,” Hakstol said. “So, it was nice to get up ice, score that goal and get in front. I thought that was a big goal in the game tonight.”
The Jets got it even, 1-1, when Kyle Connor hit at 8:07 of the middle frame. He scored off a writer from the left circle.
“He’s fantastic. He’s an unbelievable player,” the Jets’ Mark Scheifele said of Connor. “I love playing with him. He’s a guy that loves the game and loves to work at it and he’s always in the right spot. There’s not many times that I can count during a game when he’s not exactly where I know he’s going to be, and he’s an absolutely fantastic player.”
The Jets dropped to 39-17-5.
“That’s a frustrating loss,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “It certainly wasn’t our best. And 3-2 like that, to give up that goal, that was frustrating. And to give up the penalty-kill goal was a little frustrating, and we had a great opportunity with the goalie out and the guy makes an incredible save. Give him credit on that big save and coming up big on big moments, but yeah, that’s frustrating.”
Jared regained the lead for Seattle on a strike at 17:56 of the second period, scoring off a shorthanded breakaway for a 2-1 advantage.
“Total team effort,” Tatar said. “Coming here very late, back-to-back, such an important game of the season, we managed to grab two points. Every line, every single guy in the locker room chipped in, and it’s just great to see.”
The Jets’ Adam Lowry hit with nine seconds left o the game clock in the send period for a 2-2 tie headed to the third.
“[Seattle] had just scored a goal, so you at least want to get the momentum swinging back in your favor, maybe get the crowd back into it,” Lowry said. “It would always be nice to go out and score the next shift after a team scores on you, or your team scores and you can get another one.”
Nino Niederreiter claimed the lead for the Jets when he added a marker at 1:17 for a 3-2 lead, setting up the heroics of Tatar and Burakovsky.
Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves in the loss.
“We push back and we never quit, and we didn’t quit tonight,” Bowness said. “Things didn’t go our way, but we had those chances late in the game with the goalie out. The puck just didn’t go in. They were still fighting right to the end. That’s what you want to see.”
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