Winnipeg Jets right wing Nino Niederreiter (62) and Buffalo Sabres left wing Zemgus Girgensons collide during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 3, 2024, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Morgan Barron scored the tiebreaking goal on a partial breakaway with 6:05 remaining and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2 on Sunday night for their ninth victory in 11 games.
Vladislav Namestnikov and Sean Monahan sealed the win with empty-net goals over the final 81 seconds, and the Jets rallied from a third-period deficit for the second consecutive night. Winnipeg was coming off a 5-3 win at Carolina in which the Jets scored all five goals in the final period.
This time, four third-period goals were enough for Winnipeg to improve to 4-13-1 when trailing after two.
Josh Morrissey had a goal and an assist, and Nino Niederreiter also scored in helping the Jets (39-16-5) move into a tie with idle Dallas atop the Central Division standings.
Laurent Brossoit stopped 17 shots to improve to 10-4-2.
JJ Peterka and Eric Robinson scored for Buffalo, which lost in regulation for the first time this season when leading after two periods (19-1-1).
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 30 of the 33 shots he faced, and the Sabres dropped to 5-2 in their past seven games while failing to build off a 7-2 win over Vegas a night earlier.
The Jets scored two goals 3:17 apart in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit.
Morrissey tied the game on a rush, when he got in behind Sabres defenceman Henri Jokiharju. Accepting Mark Scheifele’s pass, Morrissey drove to the net and had his shot somehow trickle in through Luukkonen.
Barron’s goal came when Buffalo’s Peyton Krebs misplayed the puck at the boards just outside the Jets zone. Barron chased down the loose puck and, breaking in up the right side, snapped a shot that appeared to glance in off Luukkonen’s glove.
Luukkonen was making his ninth consecutive start and 19th in 21 games. He dropped to 19-16-2 on the season and 7-3 in his past 10, a stretch in which he’s allowed a combined 21 goals.
UP NEXT
Jets: Host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday.
Sabres: Visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
—
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
