The Winnipeg Jets continued their three-game homestand tonight as they welcomed former teammate Nikolaj Ehlers and the Carolina Hurricanes to Canada Life Centre.

Hours before puck drop, some tough news broke out. Jets star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will miss the next 4-6 weeks as he undergoes arthroscopic knee surgery. That meant Eric Comrie got the start, with Thomas Milic dressing for his first-ever NHL game, a pretty cool moment for the young netminder.

Carolina wasted no time getting on the board. Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal cut into the slot and roofed the first shot of the game over Comrie and in.

Josh Morrissey tied things up a couple of minutes later when he drove into the Canes’ zone and took a feed from Mark Scheifele down the left side, beating Brandon Bussi low on the blocker side.

Halfway through the middle frame, on the power play, Gabriel Vilardi forced a turnover that bounced off his shin pad to Cole Perfetti. Perfetti and Vilardi took off on a partial 2-on-0, and Perfetti set up Vilardi for his seventh of the season.

The Jets took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, but Staal struck again in the second period. Jalen Chatfield fired a point shot looking for a tip, and it found the stick of the Canes’ captain, beating Comrie to tie it 2-2.

Just over three minutes later, the Jets turned the puck over as the top power play unit tried to enter the Carolina zone. Sebastian Aho broke in alone, Comrie made the initial save, but Winnipegger Seth Jarvis buried the rebound to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead.

Early in the third, Andrei Svechnikov added another for Carolina on the power play. Vilardi responded with his second of the night thanks to a fortunate bounce, his attempted pass to Kyle Connor deflected off Chatfield’s skate and fooled Bussi, cutting the deficit to 4-3.

Carolina held on to defeat the Jets 4-3 in regulation, ending Winnipeg’s two-game winning streak.

The Jets will look to finish their homestand on a high note Sunday afternoon when they host the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CST on TSN3.