With just over four minutes left on the clock, Mark Scheifele delivered the dagger.
His 27th goal of the season broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the Winnipeg Jets to a gritty 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday - a comeback that snapped a troubling trend for Winnipeg and extended a frustrating slide for a banged-up Florida squad.
Let’s set the stage: the Jets came into this one with a 1-18-2 record when trailing after two periods. That’s not just a red flag - that’s a flashing neon warning sign.
And with Florida holding a 1-0 lead heading into the third, it looked like Winnipeg was heading for another long night. But in a span of just over seven minutes, the script flipped.
Cole Perfetti got it started, tying the game with 11:26 to play. Then came Scheifele, finding the back of the net with 4:14 remaining to give the Jets their first lead of the night - and one they wouldn’t give back.
It wasn’t just the offense that stepped up. Eric Comrie stood tall in net, turning away 27 shots, including a huge stop on Matthew Tkachuk with 37 seconds left that helped seal the win.
Florida pushed hard in the final minute - Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett each had chances - but Comrie didn’t blink. It was a resilient performance from a goalie who helped his team secure just their third win in the last nine games.
For the Panthers, this one stings - not just because it’s their third straight loss, but because of how it unfolded. Coming into Saturday, Florida was a perfect 17-0-1 when leading after two periods, the fifth-best mark in the NHL. That streak is now over.
Eetu Luostarinen scored the lone goal for Florida, which now finds itself eight points out of the second wild-card spot in the East. And the injury list isn’t helping. The Panthers have been without captain Aleksander Barkov all season, and on Saturday they were also missing Brad Marchand (day-to-day), Anton Lundell, and Seth Jones - a group that leaves some major holes in their lineup.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots for the Panthers, but the offense couldn’t get him the support he needed.
Up next:
- The Jets head to Dallas on Monday for a tough Central Division test.
- The Panthers will look to regroup at home against Buffalo, also on Monday.
For Winnipeg, this was a win that felt bigger than just two points - it was proof they can dig deep and finish strong. For Florida, it’s a reminder that even the league’s best third-period teams aren’t immune to a letdown, especially when the roster’s running thin.