The Jets defeated the current back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions on Saturday afternoon 2-1 on the road in Sunrise, Florida. The Jets played a controlled first 40 minutes with Eric Comrie in goal, before a two goal third period which led them to victory. Tonight, the Jets played their final road game before the Olympic break in Dallas against the Stars. With just a few days before the Olympic break, every team wants to pick up these much needed points. The 22-25-7 Jets took on the 32-14-9 Stars, with both teams looking for two points in this Central Division matchup.

There was one notable change to the Jets line combinations tonight, as they mostly continued to roll with a similar lineup that they’ve used in past games. Gustav Nyquist was on the 1st line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. Tanner Pearson was not in the lineup, meaning Gabriel Vilardi moved down to line 2 and Alex Iafallo moved down to line 4. No changes to the defense pairings.

Connor Hellebuyck got the start in goal, as Hellebuyck might be making his final start before heading off to Italy for the Olympics. The Jets lineup is mostly injury free except for Haydn Fleury, Neal Pionk and Colin Miller, all of which should return after the Olympic break. Hellebuyck entered tonight’s game with 13-15-6 record, a 2.71 GAA and a .902 SV%. Tonight’s game started out quite evenly, before each team scored twice in the 2nd. In the end, it was Stars who took home a 4-3 victory in overtime on this Monday night.

Tonight’s game started overall pretty well for the Jets, as they were getting some early shots on goal on Jake Oettinger. Just over 5 minutes into the game, Radek Faksa took the 1st penalty of the game, giving the Jets the 1st powerplay opportunity of the game. The Jets were unsuccessful with this early man advantage, but the powerplay seemed to spark the team early in this game.

Teams continued to trade chances as the first 20 minutes went on, and after 10 minutes the shots on goal were 5-3 for Winnipeg. The Jets got another chance on the powerplay with just under 6 minutes left in the 1st. Miro Heiskanen took this penalty, giving the Jets a good chance to get on the board with one of the Stars elite defenders in the box. This 2nd powerplay was less productive, and this game remained scoreless late into the 1st period.

Jonathan Toews took a late penalty with 21 seconds left in the opening frame. The Stars didn’t have much time to get anything set up, and after 20 minutes played this game was still without a goal. Shots on goal were an even 8-8, as both teams had their chances to get the opening goal of the night.

The 2nd period started with the Stars on the powerplay for a shortened 5 on 4. The Stars got set up pretty quickly, and would score 48 seconds into the 2nd period. Roope Hintz and Mikko Rantanen set up Jason Robertson in front for a deflection which snuck by Hellebuyck to make it 1-0 Stars.

The Jets didn’t let this goal discourage them, as they responded with the game tying goal less than 2 minutes later. Adam Lowry sent a pass up the ice and Cole Perfetti collected the puck and was in on a 2 on 1 with Josh Morrissey. Perfetti fired a low shot on goal, and Gabriel Vilardi skated towards the goal in a timely matter and snapped the puck past Jake Oettinger to tie this game.

The Jets built some momentum after the game tying goal, and just around a minute later they got their 3rd powerplay of the night. Less than 30 seconds into the powerplay, Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi set up a nice tic-tac-toe play for Cole Perfetti in front, who snapped the puck past Oettinger for his 6th goal of the season.

After this goal the Jets continued to generate chances, and were heavily outshooting the Stars in shots on goal in the 2nd at one point. The Stars pushed back, and about 8 minutes later they got their 2nd powerplay opportunity of the night. The powerplay soon after became a 5 on 3, and the Stars had a great chance to tie this game at 2. Hellebuyck and the Jets penalty killers did well to limit the Stars chances, and the Jets remained in front 2-1.

The Stars continued to push for the equalizer after the 5 on 3, and they would get another one past Hellebuyck with around 5 minutes to go in the 2nd. Jamie Benn made a nice drop pass to Matt Duchene, who fired a shot on goal. Nils Lundkvist was up on the play, and collected the rebound for a quick snap shot which Hellebuyck had no chance at up close.

The last few minutes of the 2nd period settled down as this game was once again all even. Shots on goal after 40 minutes were even at 17, as teams once again tied the period in shots on goal, this time with nine a piece. With 20 minutes to play, it was looking like either team’s game to win, and the Jets were putting together a very solid effort against a top 5 team in the league standings.

The 3rd started pretty much how the 2nd ended, with both teams pushing for the go-ahead goal. Johnathan Toews took his 2nd hooking penalty of the night at the 2:43 mark, giving the Stars a chance to take the lead. Similar to the 5 on 3, the Jets understood the assignment and limited the Stars to almost no chances on this man advantage.

With 10 minutes to go, the Jets had the overall lead in shots on goal 22-21, as this game continued to be a close battle to the end. Just over two minutes later, the Stars took a 3-2 lead. Miro Heiskanen and Justin Hryckowian set up Mikko Rantanen, who was skating up into the Jets zone. Rantanen made a great move to get by Luke Schenn, followed by another nice move to the backhand before sliding the puck into the back of the net for his 20th goal of the season.

The Jets took their timeout with 2:27 remaining, still down 3-2. Shortly after winning the faceoff, Hellebuyck was sent to the bench for the extra attacker. After getting set up in the Stars zone, the Jets made some nice side to side passing via Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, before a Logan Stanley slap shot found the back of the net to tie this very entertaining (and even) game at three with 1:43 to go.

This game deserved overtime with how it unfolded, and that’s just what happened. Shots on goal were even all three periods, as both teams got 9 shots on goal in the 3rd for a grand total of 26 to 26.

Scheifele got the first great chance of overtime on a breakaway about 2 minutes in, but was denied by Oettinger. Less than 20 seconds later, the Stars won this game. Miro Heiskanen and Matt Duchene made a entry play to set up Thomas Harley who skated in alone for a great chance unmarked in front. Harley made a nice deke to the backhand and raised the puck over Hellebuyck for the winning goal.

Hellebuyck was not pleased with the refs after this goal for some reason, but whatever it was he thought happened clearly didn’t. Final shots on goal were 28-27 for the Stars, as the Jets leave Dallas with a single point. Tonight was a great effort overall from the Jets, and they showed resilience on the road to tie this game up late to earn the point. The Stars have now defeated the Jets by one goal in all three of their meetings so far this season. The Jets and Stars will meet one more time this regular season in Dallas on April 2nd.

The Jets will fly home to Winnipeg tomorrow to prepare for their final game before the three week Olympic break. Their regular season schedule continues at Canada Life Centre with a game against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. Puck drop for this game will be just after 6:00 pm CT. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for all of the latest Jets news (including during the Olympic break), plus previews and recaps on each Jets game this season.