Jets score five in second period to beat Stars 8-3, extend win streak to five

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

DALLAS—The Winnipeg Jets turned a 2-2 tie into a decisive rout by scoring five times in the second period, defeating the Dallas Stars 8-3 at American Airlines Center on Thursday to extend their winning streak to five straight games.

Winnipeg’s balanced scoring featured Mark Scheifele with two goals and an assist, Dawson Mercer with two goals in a second straight game, and Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi combining for a goal and two assists each. Stuart Skinner made 30 saves for the Jets in the win.

Dallas was paced by Roope Hintz, who had a goal and an assist, and Arttu Hyry, who also scored. The Stars fell to 10-6-2, with their four-game point streak coming to an end at 3-0-1, according to the NHL game recap.

Between the pipes, Jake Oettinger allowed six Winnipeg goals on 27 shots and was replaced 1:00 into the third period by Casey DeSmith. DeSmith conceded two more goals on three shots in relief.

Hyry gave Dallas the first lead at 4:19 of the first period, finishing a one-timer from blocker side off a pass from Hintz. Hintz then extended the Stars’ advantage to 2-0 at 18:32 on a breakaway, finishing with a backhand that went through the five-hole of Skinner after a lead pass from Jason Robertson.

Winnipeg responded quickly in the second period. A point shot from defenseman Samberg cut the deficit to 2-1 at 1:11, beating Oettinger’s glove. Scheifele tied the game 2-2 at 7:03, snapping home a shot glove side after gathering a rebound in the low slot.

Dallas regained a one-goal lead when Perron scored at 11:14. The goal was assisted by a deflection, and it marked Perron’s first tally with the Stars. Mercer answered at 13:55 to level the score again at 3-3, finishing a glove-side shot after Cole Perfetti relayed a pass to him.

The Jets then took control for good. Scheifele gave Winnipeg its first lead at 4-3 at 18:12 on a one-timer from the left circle off a pass from Vilardi. Mercer added his second of the game with nine seconds remaining in the period, extending the lead to 5-3 after completing a two-on-one rush.

Winnipeg pushed the margin wider early in the third. Connor made it 6-3 just 1:00 into the period with a snap shot from the low circle. Vilardi scored to make it 7-3 at 15:12, and Cole Koepke added the final goal of the night 14 seconds later for an 8-3 finish.

With the victory, the Jets improved to 9-8-3, while Dallas saw its point streak end and its four-game run of results come to a stop at 3-0-1, as reported in the NHL recap.