The Winnipeg Jets had every reason to stop believing.
asserted
Jets → have → reason
Their season had been rocked from the start when former MVP goalie Connor Hellebuyck asked for a trade.
asserted
Hellebuyck → rock → trade
The Bell Centre was roaring and a Montreal Canadiens win looked certain, but Kyle Connor still had faith.
asserted
Connor → roar → faith
“Always,” the Jets winger said.
asserted
winger → say → ?
Connor scored twice, and Dylan Samberg won it in overtime as Winnipeg rallied for the latest four-goal comeback in NHL history on Tuesday night, stunning the Canadiens 5-4 to end a nine-game skid.
asserted
Winnipeg → score → skid
Winnipeg scored four goals in two minutes and six seconds to tie the game with 33 seconds remaining in regulation, before Samberg beat Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler with a wrist shot at 3:30 in overtime.
“What a way to end the streak we were on,” Connor said.
asserted
Connor → score → streak
The Jets had controlled most of the play before the rally but Fowler, the NHL’s rookie of the month for October, looked unbeatable.
asserted
Fowler → control → October
The 21-year-old American made 19 saves in the second period alone, including several incredible stops on Mark Scheifele.
asserted
American → make → Scheifele
Jets defenseman Tyrel Bauer played his part in turning things around.
asserted
Bauer → play → things
A sixth-round draft pick playing in his 10th NHL game, Bauer dropped the gloves with Canadiens heavyweight Arber Xhekaj with 9:20 left in regulation.
asserted
Bauer → play → regulation
Xhekaj fired up the crowd and was soon joined in the penalty box by his younger brother, Florian, the two grinning together on the arena’s big screen.
asserted
two → fire → screen
But Bauer had the last laugh, scoring his first career goal with 2:39 left in regulation to ignite the comeback.
asserted
Bauer → have → comeback
“That’s a long, hard stretch, but this group believed in each other,” said Bauer, his fists still dripping blood after his tilt with the older Xhekaj.
asserted
fists → ’ → Xhekaj
“We had each other’s backs in that room, the guys had my back on the ice tonight.
asserted
guys → have → ice
I blacked out for the rest of it.
asserted
I → black → it
I don’t know if I wanted to win a hockey game more in my life.
asserted
I → know → life
Morgan Barron made it 4-2 at 18:03, with Bauer earning an assist that completed his Gordie Howe hat-trick.
asserted
that → make → trick
Connor then tied it with two one-timers 27 seconds apart with the goalie pulled – the second on the power play – before Samberg finished the job in overtime.
asserted
Samberg → tie → overtime
In the Canadiens’ locker room, players had trouble explaining how they fell apart.
asserted
they → have → trouble
“I guess [we] thought the game was over,” said Canadiens winger Cole Caufield, who scored his second of the game early in the third period to make it 4-0.
asserted
it → guess → period
“We had a four-goal lead.
asserted
We → have → lead
It’s terrible.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Head coach Martin St Louis said the Canadiens “got what we deserved.”
asserted
we → say → what
“We were winning, but we weren’t outplaying them,” he said.
asserted
he → win → them
“If you look at the game as a whole, forget the score, Winnipeg was the better team tonight.
asserted
Winnipeg → look → score
How the whole thing happened, that’s hard to explain.
asserted
that → happen → ?
The Jets entered desperate for their first win since 13 October, and their first since Hellebuyck’s trade to the New Jersey Devils ended a tumultuous finish to his Jets tenure.
asserted
trade → enter → tenure
They were coming off a 7-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday that Connor, an 11-year veteran, called a “low point” with the franchise.
asserted
Connor → come → franchise
That loss raised questions about Arniel’s future behind the bench heading into Tuesday night’s game.
asserted
loss → raise → game
It’s a night the Jets hope they can look back on as the turning point in their season.
asserted
they → ’ → season
“I’m so happy that we won tonight and we got that win,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said.
asserted
Arniel → ’m → win
To me, we’re still in the hunt.
asserted
we → ’re → hunt
Going into this game, we were four points out of a playoff spot in the West.
asserted
we → go → West
You just gotta stay in the pack.
asserted
You → get → pack
I know it’s been a grind for us, but we just gotta stay in it.
asserted
we → know → it
And hopefully this is the jump-start that we needed.”
asserted
we → need → that
The Aporia
