Blacked Canadiens blow 4-0 lead as Jets win in overtime
Winnipeg scored four goals in two minutes and six seconds to erase Montreal’s 4-0 lead, then beat the Canadiens 5-4 in overtime. The rally ended the Jets’…
MONTREAL — The blacked Canadiens blow 4-0 lead ended with Winnipeg beating Montreal 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday night, after the Jets scored four goals in two minutes and six seconds to force extra time at the Bell Centre. The comeback ended Winnipeg’s nine-game losing streak and set an NHL record.
Montreal had been less than three minutes from a win when Tyrel Bauer scored with 2:39 remaining in regulation. Morgan Barron cut the deficit to two, then Kyle Connor scored twice, 27 seconds apart, to tie the game with 33 seconds left. Dylan Samberg won it at 3:30 of overtime.
The collapse turned a seemingly secure home victory into a record-setting loss for the Canadiens. Winnipeg had trailed by four with less than three minutes remaining, a situation in which teams had previously gone 0-9,652-0, according to the statistic cited in the coverage.
How did the Jets erase Montreal’s four-goal lead?
Bauer’s first career goal started the rally. Barron scored at 18:03, and Connor’s pair of one-timers—scored with the goalie pulled, including one on the power play—brought Winnipeg level.
The run came after Montreal had taken control of the score. Cole Caufield scored his second goal of the game early in the third period to make it 4-0, while rookie goaltender Jacob Fowler had looked difficult to beat.
Fowler made 19 saves in the second period alone, including several stops against Mark Scheifele. The Jets had controlled much of the play before their late surge, but Montreal’s lead appeared to put the game beyond reach.
Then Bauer changed the mood. He had fought Canadiens forward Arber Xhekaj with 9:20 left in regulation before scoring, completing a Gordie Howe hat-trick with an assist on Barron’s goal.
“I blacked out for the rest of it,” Bauer said. He also said the team believed in one another through a difficult stretch, adding that he did not know if he had ever wanted to win a hockey game more.
What did the Canadiens say after the loss?
Caufield said Montreal may have assumed the game was finished once it built a four-goal advantage. “There’s no excuse for this. It’s terrible,” the Canadiens winger said.
Head coach Martin St Louis said Winnipeg had been the better team over the full game, regardless of the score. He said Montreal had been winning without outplaying the Jets and described the collapse as something he had never experienced.
The defeat came as Winnipeg looked for its first win since 13 October. The Jets had entered the game after a 7-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, which Connor had called a low point for the franchise.
Before the comeback, the team was on a nine-game skid and facing questions about coach Scott Arniel’s future. Arniel said the Jets were still in the hunt and hoped the win could provide a jump-start.
For Montreal, the result leaves a direct warning about how quickly a lead can disappear when an opponent keeps pressing. Winnipeg scored four times in 2:06, then Samberg’s overtime wrist shot completed the 5-4 comeback.
