Bruins erase Jets’ late lead, then finish it in overtime on Peterka’s winner

A night of answers before the late twist

Winnipeg struck first at 4:52 of the opening period when Dylan DeMelo scored on a slap shot, with Morgan Barron and Adam Lowry drawing the assists. The Bruins did not spend long chasing. Hampus Lindholm answered at 9:23 with a slap shot of his own, and Boston moved in front at 15:20 when James Hagens finished a wrist shot set up by Nikita Zadorov and Mark Kastelic.

That first period established the pattern of the night: almost every surge was met by a reply. Boston carried a 2-1 lead out of the frame, but Winnipeg immediately reset the game in the second. Kyle Connor scored just 1:50 in, finishing a snap shot with Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Perfetti on the play, and the Jets spent much of the evening showing they would not let the Bruins settle into a comfortable script.

The home side reclaimed the lead with only eight seconds left in the second period. At 19:52, Mario Ferraro scored on a wrist shot after assists from Lowry and Connor, sending Winnipeg into the third ahead 3-2. That sequence mattered because it forced Boston to chase the game deep into the night instead of protecting a lead. The Jets also finished with the shot edge, 33-30, while blocking 20 shots to Boston’s 13, numbers that underline how much work Winnipeg put into slowing the Bruins once the score tilted their way.

Lindholm’s deflection changed the ending

For most of the third period, Ferraro’s late second-period goal looked like it might stand as the difference. Boston generated enough pressure to stay within one shot of a tie, but the breakthrough did not come until 18:22, when Elias Lindholm tipped home a play created by David Pastrnak and Mason Lohrei. It was Boston’s last chance in regulation, and it reset a game that had swung repeatedly but still seemed ready to end in Winnipeg’s favour.

That equalizer capped a strong individual night for Boston’s most dangerous contributors. Pastrnak finished with two assists, both on the Bruins’ final two goals. Elias Lindholm scored once and put five shots on goal. Peterka also recorded five shots before delivering the winner, while Zadorov added two assists from the back end. Boston did not rely on one scorer carrying the offence; it received goals from Hampus Lindholm, Hagens, Elias Lindholm and Peterka, with different combinations involved throughout the night.

Once overtime opened the ice, Boston needed only one clean finish. At 3:21, Peterka beat Stuart Skinner with a wrist shot off assists from Pastrnak and Zadorov to complete the comeback. Jeremy Swayman’s work in net gave the Bruins the platform to reach that point. He stopped 30 of 33 shots for a .909 save percentage, while Skinner turned aside 26 of 30 for Winnipeg. In a one-goal game that lasted beyond regulation, that small margin in net became the whole result.

Our take: Boston found the cleaner finish, Winnipeg left the door open

The Bruins will like the resilience, but they should also notice what made the game harder than it needed to be. Boston was charged with 24 giveaways, a high number for a team that still had to chase late, and it went 0-for-1 on the power play. What carried the visitors through was not perfect control but timely finishing and enough goaltending to survive Winnipeg’s 33 shots. Boston also won 51.7 per cent of the faceoffs and outhit the Jets 26-17, details that helped keep the game within reach even when the lead disappeared.

For Winnipeg, the frustration is obvious. The Jets scored on one of three power plays, got a goal and an assist from Connor, and received multi-point work from Lowry, yet still could not close out the final 1:38 of regulation. That does not erase the good parts of their night, especially the late second-period push that restored the lead, but it does point to the area that will sting most. When a team gets to 3-2 that late and blocks 20 shots, the expectation is that the game should be finished. Instead, Boston’s best players delivered the last two blows, and the Jets were left with a result that will feel narrower than the opportunity they had in front of them.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 4:52

   Dylan DeMelo Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Morgan Barron (1), Adam Lowry (1)

2. 1st · 9:23

   Hampus Lindholm Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Morgan Geekie (1), William Borgen (1)

3. 1st · 15:20

   James Hagens Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Nikita Zadorov (1), Mark Kastelic (1)

4. 2nd · 1:50

   Kyle Connor Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Gabriel Vilardi (1), Cole Perfetti (1)

5. 2nd · 19:52

   Mario Ferraro Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Adam Lowry (2), Kyle Connor (1)

6. 3rd · 18:22

   Elias Lindholm Goal (1) Tip-In, assists: David Pastrnak (1), Mason Lohrei (2)

7. OT · 3:21

   JJ Peterka Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (2), Nikita Zadorov (2)