The Anaheim Ducks rallied from behind to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Wednesday night at the Honda Center, marking their first win against the Jets in over three years. This game illustrated not just the Ducks' determination but also the Jets' struggle to capitalize, particularly as the season progresses.
Winnipeg entered this contest with high hopes to secure their first victory on their California road trip but instead fell to 0-3 when playing the second leg of back-to-back games this season. Reflecting on the performance, Jets coach Scott Arniel remarked, "We didn’t play very well for two periods. Found a way to get out and get a lead...and made some mistakes. Obviously, they were key mistakes...and Anaheim gets the win." The loss dropped the Jets to 23-10-1 for the season.
The Ducks struck first, taking advantage of the Jets’ sluggish start as they dominated possession early. Only 11 minutes passed before Winnipeg managed its first shot on goal — not great by any measure. Anaheim led the shots battle prominently, outshooting the Jets by 12-4 during the first period.
Despite struggling initially, the Jets managed to tie the game at 1-1 during the second period, courtesy of Gabriel Vilardi, who scored his 14th goal of the season. They then took their first lead of the game with Mark Scheifele's blast past Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal just 4:13 minutes after the second intermission. Kyle Connor's excellent setup play earned him two assists during the match.
Nonetheless, Winnipeg’s inability to maintain their lead proved fatal. The Ducks equalized late, with goal-scorer Frank Vatrano netting another goal after he previously tied things up at 2-2 early on with just under five minutes left. After forcing a turnover, Ducks forward Troy Terry made it 3-2, scoring with only 26 seconds remaining. Terry shared his thoughts after the game, stating, "[Vatrano] is such a good forechecker...my first instinct was just to try to hold on to it and take it to the far side." Defensively, the Jets' mistake came to fruition when Neal Pionk’s errant attempt to clear the puck resulted directly in Terry’s game-winner.
Reflecting on the game, Nikolaj Ehlers, who returned after missing nine games, concluded, "We didn’t deserve to win. Our goalies give us a chance to win every single night and he did it again tonight. We weren’t good enough in front of him." Goalie Eric Comrie put forth another commendable effort, recording 28 saves but remained winless over his last five starts.
The Jets were outshot 31-23 overall, with 15 of those shots occurring during the final frame, but their earlier two periods were too poor to overcome. Notably, the Jets have been outshot for 10 of their last 13 away games, indicating larger issues beyond just the single-game performance. Fried from scoring the game-winning goal, Vatrano factored heavily throughout his night, contributing two goals and one assist to his name.
Following the game, coach Greg Cronin expressed hope for the Ducks, emphasizing the importance of team cohesion. He pointedly said, "This is a win. It should give us a lot of confidence." The Ducks seemed to embrace this victory, building momentum as they look to climb from the bottom of the standings.
The Jets head back to Winnipeg, where they will prepare for their next game against the Minnesota Wild. With their consistency as they approach Christmas being question marks, Winnipeg is seeking to rebound and correct their errors before they face their rivals. The puck drops Saturday evening at 6 p.m., following what promises to be significant pre-game coverage. The team will look to reassess their play to mitigate such late-game collapses. Will they take the lessons learned from Anaheim to heart as they return to familiar territory? Time will tell.
