What Happened
Dawson Mercer and Kyle Connor each scored twice to lead the Winnipeg Jets past the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Tuesday at Canada Life Centre. The result gave Winnipeg a fourth straight win and stopped New Jersey's five-game winning streak. Mercer broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 11:58 of the third period, and Connor added an unassisted empty-net goal to close it out. Former Devils netminder Nico Daws made 19 saves for Winnipeg in front of a capacity crowd of 15,321. Jake Allen stopped 21 shots for New Jersey. The Devils erased a 2-0 first-period deficit with two goals 44 seconds apart in the second: Jesper Bratt scored at 1:14 off an Arseny Gritsyuk setup, and Cody Glass tied it at 1:58 by deflecting a Jonathan Kovacevic shot.
Key Details
- Mercer and Connor each scored twice for Winnipeg.
- Mercer's power-play goal at 11:58 of the third period made it 3-2.
- Connor sealed the win with an unassisted empty-net goal.
- Nico Daws, a former Devils goaltender, made 19 saves for Winnipeg.
- Jake Allen stopped 21 shots for New Jersey.
- Jesper Bratt scored at 1:14 of the second; Jack Hughes assisted to extend his point streak to six games.
- Cody Glass tied the game at 1:58 of the second by deflecting a Jonathan Kovacevic shot; Declan Chisholm also assisted.
- Winnipeg improved to 8-8-3; New Jersey fell to 13-6-0.
What It Means
Winnipeg's fourth straight win lifts the Jets to 8-8-3 and gives a .500-ish club a needed run of form. Mercer's two-goal night against his former team and Connor's continued scoring give the Jets top-six production, while Daws delivered a 19-save outing against the organization he came from. For New Jersey, the loss ends a five-game run but the Devils remain 13-6-0, one of the stronger records in the early season. Jack Hughes extending his point streak to six games keeps New Jersey's offense trending well despite the result.