The Jets finally found a commanding way to win a hockey game, defeating the Capitals 5-1 in Winnipeg Saturday night. The Jets concluded their 4 game homestand tonight against another Canadian team: the Ottawa Senators. Canada Life Centre was the host for tonight’s game, as the Jets looked to conclude this 4 game homestand with another much needed win. The now 15-15-1 Jets took on the 14-3-4 Ottawa Senators, with both teams trying to get back into a playoff spot in their respective divisions.

There were a few changes to the Jets lineup tonight, as they continue to shake up their line combinations, mostly with the forward lines. Gabriel Vilardi moved back up to the top line to play alongside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Cole Perfetti moved up to the 2nd line with Vladislav Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter. Morgan Barron, Adam Lowry and Alex Iafallo formed the 3rd line, and Jonathan Toews was on the 4th line with Gustav Nyquist and Cole Koepke. One small note on the defense pairings, as Luke Schenn stayed on the 3rd pairing with Logan Stanley.

Connor Hellebuyck got another start in goal, as Hellebuyck made his 2nd consecutive start since returning from knee surgery ahead of schedule. Haydn Fleury is still the only other injured Jets player at the moment, who’s now out of concussion protocol (but still on the IR) and continues to practice. Hellebuyck entered tonight’s game with a 9-6-0 record, a 2.41 GAA and an average .916 SV%. Tonight’s game started off quietly for both teams. The Senators eventually took a brief 1-0 lead, but it was the Jets who quickly rallied back to get a 2-1 lead at the end of the 1st. Unfortunately, a late game tying goal and an overtime winner gave the Senators a 3-2 win tonight in Winnipeg.

The 1st period was a relatively quiet period for both teams. Luke Schenn and Mark Scheifele took penalties a few minutes apart near the halfway point of the period. Both teams struggled to get shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes, and the Jets were able to kill off both of these penalties without many high danger chances from the Senators.

With a little under 3 minutes left in the 1st, Kurtis MacDermid was called for hooking on Logan Stanley, sending the Jets on their 1st powerplay of the night. The game remained scoreless at the end of 1st, with the shots on goal tied at just 7 for each team. No indication was really given as to which team was the “better” in the 1st period, as both team continued to look for the game’s opening goal.

The 2nd period opened with a penalty from Josh Morrissey for tripping, but the Senators continued to be unable to open the scoring. Minutes later the Jets got their 2nd powerplay of the night, but once again the Jets failed to generate much on their man advantage.

Just after the halfway point of this game, the Senators opened the scoring. Tim Stutzle and Kurtis MacDermid set up Nick Cousins near the front of the net unmarked. Three Jets players were all on the same side of the ice, giving Cousins an easy shot on goal. Hellebuyck got a piece of Cousin’s wrister, but it squeaked by to give the Senators a 1-0 lead.

Just under 5 minutes later, the Jets responded with their 1st goal of the game. Cole Perfetti and Kyle Connor set up Neal Pionk at the point, who fired a slap shot on goal. The puck took a deflection off what looked like a Senators players’ stick before finding its way into the back of the net to tie this game at 1.

Almost 3 minutes later, the Jets took their first lead of the night. Gabriel Vilardi collected the puck just before the blue line and entered the Senators zone. Vilardi found Morgan Barron nearby, who sent a pass across to Logan Stanley. After quickly controlling the puck, Stanley fired a very nice wrister on goal past Linus Ullmark for his 6th (yes really, 6th) goal of the season.

The 2nd period ended with the Jets in front 2-1. Shots on goal in the 2nd were 12-10 for the Senators, as they now were outshooting the Jets 19-17 after 40 minutes played. After the Senators opened the scoring, the Jets did a great job of stopping the Senators momentum by getting the crowd going at Canada Life Centre. The 3rd period was looking like it would be a tight battle to decide who won tonight’s game.

As projected, the 3rd period was a tight checking battle as both teams looked for that important next goal. Teams traded chances, but Hellebuyck and Ullmark shut the door, ensuring the score stayed the same. With 4 minutes remaining, there were no penalties in the 3rd period, and the Senators continued to slightly lead in shots on goal over the Jets 25-23.

The Senators pulled the goalie with a little over 2 minutes remaining. After controlling the puck following a faceoff win, Jake Sanderson collected the puck from Stutzle and fired a wrist shot that went through a crowd in front and past Hellebuyck to tie this game at 2 with 1:54 remaining.

Overtime was needed tonight, as the Senators outshot the Jets 27-24 overall and 8-7 in the 3rd period. Both teams played well this game at points, and in the end it seemed fair that both teams would leave tonight with at least 1 point.

Hellebuyck and Ullmark shined at the start of OT, each making some clutch saves. With just under 3 minutes left in OT, the Senators entered the zone on a 2 on 1 after a pass from Jake Sanderson. Tim Stutzle waited and sent a saucer pass across to Brady Tkachuk, who slapped the puck upstairs into the back of the net for his 2nd of the season and tonight’s game winning overtime goal.

The Senators outshot the Jets 4-1 in overtime, and the final shots on goal in this game were 31-25 Senators. Linus Ullmark kept the Senators in this game after Stanley made it 2-1 Jets, and the Senators late push with the net empty eventually led them to 2 points tonight. The Jets would’ve loved to get 2 points tonight, but overall tonight’s performance was a step in the right direction towards the hockey they need to play on a consistent basis moving forward.

The Jets will now hit the road to begin a 3 game road trip before their Christmas break begins, as their regular season schedule continues with a game against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. Puck drop for this game will be just after 7:00 pm CT. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for all of the latest Jets news, plus previews and recaps on each Jets game this season.