WINNIPEG — When Eric Comrie got scored on 16 seconds into Friday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Jets head coach Scott Arniel wasn’t upset.
Comrie was replacing star netminder Connor Hellebuyck, whom the team said Friday was undergoing arthroscopic surgery for a knee problem dating back to training camp. He’s expected to be out four to six weeks.
The former backup made 24 saves in the 4-3 loss to the Hurricanes.
“Obviously, we got caught right off the bat there on a transition play,” Arniel said. “Yeah, I felt for him right away but then he settled in.
“He made some big stops in the first there and then on the penalty kill he had to make a couple of really big stops.”
Gabriel Vilardi scored twice and defenceman Josh Morrissey added a goal for Winnipeg (12-8-0), extending his point streak to seven games with four goals and seven assists.
Jordan Staal had a pair of goals and Seth Jarvis scored shorthanded for Carolina (14-5-2). K’Andre Miller and Sebastian Aho each contributed a pair of assists and backup netminder Brandon Bussi stopped 24 shots.
Arniel said Comrie was “rock solid” and “his consistent self” despite the errors made in front of him.
“It’s not a situation where we ask (Comrie) to stop 40 (shots),” Arniel said. “We need to play better in front of him. A couple of mistakes we made are things that we need to clean up for him.”
Staal scored 16 seconds into the game, making a move to get around Jets defencemen Dylan Samberg and firing the puck past Comrie on the stick side.
Winnipeg defenceman Dylan DeMelo later batted a puck out of the air after it hit Comrie’s pad in the opening frame.
What did Comrie say to him?
“He was saying, ‘Nice save.’ I was saying, ‘It’s the least I can do for all the times you’ve saved my back,’” DeMelo said. “Yeah, desperation play and I was lucky to hit it pretty flush.”
Comrie is now 4-2-0 this season. He’s being backed up by Thomas Milic.
The team wants to play well in front of all its goalies, but Comrie is a special teammate, DeMelo said.
“On and off the ice, he’s one of our, if not our hardest worker on our team…” DeMelo said.
“A charismatic guy, fun energy, so when he’s in the pipes we want to play hard obviously for all our goalies, but when he’s in the net he just brings so much energy to this group and he’s such a vital part of it.”
Since Winnipeg’s defence wanted to help Comrie out, Morrissey provided the first goal at 3:44 of the opening period to tie it up. Vilardi’s power-play marker at 9:28 came after a Carolina turnover.
Vilardi said the team’s drive doesn’t change with Comrie in net.
“(Comrie) comes out with the same mindset every day, so we come out with the same mindset every day,” Vilardi said. “He’s playing more now, obviously, but he’s up for that challenge.”
Staal notched his second of the game when he got his stick on Jalen Chatfield’s point shot at 3:08 of the second period.
Jarvis scored his 11th goal the season at 6:31 and Svechnikov stretched the lead to 4-2 three minutes into the third. Vilardi made it a one-goal game 54 seconds later.
Miller was called for high sticking Vilardi with 52 seconds left in the game and Comrie was pulled for the extra attacker, but no equalizer was scored.
“We’re a group that we’re going to play right down to the whistle,” DeMelo said. “Six-on-four, you can’t ask for more.”
HELLO OLD FRIEND
The Jets played a video tribute in the first period for Carolina forward Nikolaj Ehlers, who played 674 games for Winnipeg before signing with the Hurricanes in the off-season.
Ehlers skated away from the Carolina bench and clapped his gloves for the cheering second sellout crowd of the season at Canada Life Centre.
He later assisted on Svechnikov’s goal after sending him a no-look pass across the front of the net.
“(He’s) one of the best passers in this league,” Svechnikov said. “You’ve just kind of always have to expect it and get open, and he’ll always find you.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2025.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
