The Winnipeg Jets are back in the win column.
On Friday night from downtown Winnipeg, the Jets rediscovered their secondary scoring, beating the visiting Buffalo Sabres 4-1 for their first victory at home since November 18.
Entering the game losers of six of their last seven, the Jets received goals from Kyle Connor, Tanner Perason, Cole Koepke and Gabe Vilardi, while Eric Comrie shut the door on 34 of the 35 shots he faced on the night.
Winnipeg improved to 14-12-1 on the year with the win, and will now take their talents on the road to Edmonton for a late-night battle with Connor McDavid and the Oilers in the second half of a back-to-back on Saturday.
Connor opened the scoring just 4:24 into the first period, as he whacked the puck past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen on his second rebound on the doorstep. Gabe Vilardi and Dylan Samberg picked up the helpers on Connor’s 15th of the season.
But with Jonathan Toews in the penalty box for tripping, Jason Zucker tied the game on a rebound tally of his own as the period wore on.
Buffalo outshot the Jets 15-8 in the first period, but Winnipeg escaped with the 1-1 draw.
The second period saw the tide change, as the Jets piled on the offence to the tune of three decent scoring chances. And they scored on two of them.
Adam Lowry was denied on a penalty shot, but Pearson and Koepke each scored on strong individual efforts.
Pearson’s fourth of the season came on a breakaway, while Koepke’s marker was nifty deke, which came as his first goal as a member of the Jets.
Later, Josh Morrissey rattled the iron with a long-range point shot, but Luukkonen kept Winnipeg’s lead to two goals with a few stellar stops in the period.
On the other side of the ice, Comrie continued to shut the door on all of Buffalo’s scoring chances after letting in the Zucker marker.
Mark Scheifele nearly had another for the home team, but his 15th of the season was called off due to a successful offside coach’s challenge from the Sabres’ video coaching staff.
Vilardi potted his 12th of the season into the empty net with assists from his linemates, sealing the deal on the Jets’ 14th win of the season with 33 seconds left to play.
Comrie finished the night with 34 stops, while Luukkonen was torched for three goals on 20 shots.
Next up for Winnipeg is the second game of the back-to-back, as the team heads to Edmonton for a test with the Oilers on Saturday. That game will be aired live on Sportsnet at 9:00 PM central time.