Coming into their matchup with the Calgary Flames Friday night, second periods had not been great for the Winnipeg Jets this season.
They had only scored five goals in seven games coming in and had a negative goal differential, but the Jets flipped that on its head by scoring four goals in the middle frame en route to a 5-3 win.
Calgary opened the scoring 5:18 into the game as the Winnipeg penalty kill finally gave up a goal.
On their second power play of the night, Nazem Kadri, who drew the tripping penalty on Dylan DeMelo, wired a one-timer past Eric Comrie for his first of the season.
It was just the second power play goal on 30 kills that the Jets have allowed on the season and their first since their opener against Dallas.
Calgary outshot the Jets 9-5 in the first as Winnipeg failed to generate much in terms of offensive chances.
That changed in a big way in the middle frame.
With teams playing at 4-on-4 early in the period, DeMelo sent a stretch pass to Josh Morrissey in the neutral zone. He made a great move to get around a Flames defender to create a 2-on-1 with Kyle Connor.
Morrissey patiently waited as the defender and goalie Dustin Wolf focused on him before sliding a pass over to Connor that the sniper blasted into the goal for his fourth of the season and first since his opening night hat trick.
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From there, Winnipeg dominated the bulk of the period.
Just 65 seconds after Connor’s goal, the Jonathan Toews won a faceoff in the Calgary end, sending it back to Morrissey. He drove to the corner and sent a puck toward the front of the net where Toews steered it past Wolf for his second of the season and first goal at home.
The Flames challenged the goal, arguing that there was goaltender interference but the call on the ice stood. Winnipeg failed to score on the ensuing man advantage but right after it was killed off, they earned another power play and cashed in on that look to make it 3-1.
It was Gabriel Vilardi getting the puck down low and chipping backhand shot through Wolf for his first of the season. He let out a yell of relief after seeing that the puck had crossed the goal line, frustrated to be held without a goal over the first seven games.
Calgary got one back at the 13:56 mark when a defensive breakdown in the Winnipeg end allowed captain Mikael Backlund to walk in alone and put a deke on Comrie before sliding it home to make it 3-2.
But Winnipeg was back on the power play in the final minutes and made good to restore their two-goal lead.
The puck was cycled around the zone before landing on the stick of Vilardi near the crease, and he slid a slick short pass to Alex Iafallo in the slot that he wired home to make it 4-2 after two periods.
Winnipeg outshot Calgary 16-9 in the middle frame.
The third period was defined by penalties. It began with Nino Niederreiter in the box after he took a penalty as the second expired, but Calgary took a penalty 55 seconds in that negated the opportunity.
At 3:40, Tanner Pearson was called for holding, but Winnipeg killed it off, and seconds later Jonathan Huberdeau high-sticked Toews, though the Jets couldn’t take advantage.
Moments after Huberdeau got out of the box, the Flames made it a one-goal game. Blake Coleman got lost in coverage and received a pass from the corner that he buried at the 8:27 mark.
The parade to the penalty box continued a few minutes later when Niederreiter was called for goaltender interference but just 13 seconds later, Calgary took another offensive zone penalty.
With 2:50 to go, it was Haydn Fleury’s turn to head to the sin bin, but right off the ensuing faceoff it was Cole Koepke who was sprung on a shorthanded breakaway. He was unable to bury the chance, giving the Flames a chance to get set up and pull the goalie to make it a 6-on-4.
They were unable to get the job done before Vladislav Namestnikov sent the puck down the ice into the empty net with under ten seconds remaining.
With the win, the Jets improve to 6-2 on the season while Calgary still hasn’t won a game since their opener, now 1-7-1 on the campaign.
Winnipeg finished the game 2-for-8 on the power play while Calgary went 1-for-6.
Comrie stopped 30 shots to pick up his second win in as many starts this season.
The Jets return to action Sunday afternoon against Utah. Pregame coverage on 680 CJOB begins at 3 p.m. with the puck dropping just after 5 p.m.
