Scott Arniel wore the disappointment on his face as he met with reporters following Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins at Canada Life Centre.
asserted
he → wear → Centre
But rather than dwelling on a squandered 3-2 lead with seconds remaining in regulation or the missed chances in extra time, the Winnipeg Jets head coach chose to focus on the positives from his club’s season-opener.
asserted
coach → dwell → opener
“You know what?
asserted
You → know → what
For the first game of the year, I thought it went real, real good.
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it → think → year
We were good in a lot of areas,” Arniel said.
asserted
Arniel → say → areas
“I loved our start.
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I → love → start
They’re a good team.
asserted
They → ’re → ?
We went after them.
asserted
We → go → them
We had some opportunities as well.”
asserted
We → have → opportunities
Arniel acknowledged there are clear areas to address in the coming days, with the Jets facing a quick turnaround for back-to-back games against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
asserted
Jets → acknowledge → Monday
Winnipeg (0-1-0) opened the scoring with a goal from defenceman Dylan DeMelo, but Boston (2-0-0) answered with markers from Hampus Lindholm and James Hagens to carry a 2-1 lead into the second period.
asserted
Boston → open → period
Kyle Connor evened the score just 1:50 into the second frame, extending his NHL record for most consecutive season openers with a goal to nine straight.
asserted
Connor → even → nine
Just a long off-season, excited to be back, I don’t know,” Connor said.
asserted
Connor → know → ?
“I wish I could keep that going, bottle it up.”
uncertain
I → wish → it
Mario Ferraro, another Jets blueliner, restored Winnipeg’s lead with eight seconds left in the second frame, picking the top-right corner on Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman.
asserted
Ferraro → restore → Swayman
For a team searching for secondary scoring, Arniel said two goals from the backend was an encouraging sign.
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Arniel → search → backend
“That’s big,” Arniel said.
asserted
Arniel → ’ → ?
“When your D can be a part of it, it puts some pressure on the opposition.
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it → put → opposition
You saw, with Boston, how hard their D were coming, too.
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D → see → Boston
That’s what this NHL is.
asserted
NHL → ’ → ?
You’ve got to be mobile and you’ve got to get up in that rush.”
asserted
you → get → rush
Stuart Skinner turned aside 26 saves in his Jets debut, while Swayman countered with 30 stops for the victory.
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Swayman → turn → victory
Skinner played particularly well in the third period as the Bruins pressed for the equalizer.
asserted
Bruins → play → equalizer
He conceded a soft goal earlier in the game when Hagens’ slap shot from the point beat him clean on the glove side.
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shot → concede → side
Still, the home crowd gave him a warm welcome, cheering him on with chants of “Stuu” even on routine stops.
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crowd → give → stops
“Normally, when I just stop a puck behind the net, I don’t get a ton of ‘Stu’s,’” Skinner said.
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Skinner → stop → Stu
“That honestly just shows how much love is in the building tonight and how much the fans are there for us.”
asserted
fans → show → us
The loudest ovation on the night belonged to rookie defenceman Tyrel Bauer.
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ovation → belong → Bauer
Making his NHL debut, Bauer dropped the gloves with Boston’s Mark Kastelic in the first period, landing a number of decisive blows that left Kastelic’s jersey stained with blood.
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that → make → blood
“He’s a phenomenal teammate,” Connor said.
asserted
Connor → ’ → ?
“Having that type of guy on your team, if anybody takes liberties on anybody, any type of player, he’s the first guy jumping in.
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he → have → player
And I thought he looked good, too, made a couple of great breakout passes.
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he → think → passes
And that stuff definitely goes noticed by the team and we appreciate it, it goes a long way.”
asserted
it → go → way
Fellow rookie Viggo Bjorck was also playing his first NHL game.
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Bjorck → play → game
The 18-year-old, selected eighth overall in June, looked composed logging 15:42 of ice time, including time on the power play and penalty kill.
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old → select → play
“We got 83 to go.
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We → get → 83
We got five-in-eight-days here, so it’s just build off this,” Arniel said.
asserted
Arniel → get → this
“It was a real quick hockey game, and it’s hard to duplicate that in practice.
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it → ’ → practice
But it was good that they got to go through that.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2026.
asserted
report → get → Press
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