Jets stun Canadiens with historic four-goal comeback: ‘This group believed’

MONTREAL — The Winnipeg Jets had every reason to stop believing.

They were down four goals in the third period, less than three minutes from a 10th straight defeat, in their fifth game in eight nights. Their coach was on the hot seat. Their season had been rocked from the start when former MVP goalie Connor Hellebuyck asked for a trade.

The Bell Centre was roaring and a Montreal Canadiens win looked certain, but Kyle Connor still had faith.

“Always,” the Jets winger said.

Connor scored twice, and Dylan Samberg won it in overtime as Winnipeg rallied for the latest four-goal comeback in NHL history Tuesday night, stunning the Canadiens 5-4 to end a nine-game skid.

Winnipeg (5-8-3) scored four goals in two minutes six seconds to tie the game with 33 seconds remaining in regulation, before Samberg beat Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler with a wrist shot at 3:30 in three-on-three overtime.

“What a way to end the streak we were on,” Connor said outside a jubilant Jets dressing room.

The Jets had controlled most of the play before the rally but Fowler, the NHL’s rookie of the month for October, looked unbeatable. He had made 33 saves in Montreal’s win over Winnipeg at the Heritage Classic outdoor game on Oct. 25, and he stopped 42 on Tuesday, many of them spectacular.

The 21-year-old American reached back for a glove save to rob Cole Perfetti’s backhand on the doorstep with 4:34 left in regulation, at the time preserving his shutout. He made 19 saves in the second period alone, including several incredible stops on Mark Scheifele.

“That young Fowler kid, wow,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said. “That’s twice now I’ve seen him. I don’t want to see him anymore. Wow, he’s something. The stops he was making, especially in that second period.

“But really, that was the message after the first and after the second: don’t stop.”

Lesser-known Jets defenceman Tyrel Bauer played his part in turning things around.

A sixth-round draft pick playing in his 10th NHL game, Bauer dropped the gloves with Canadiens heavyweight Arber Xhekaj with 9:20 left in regulation. Xhekaj fired up the crowd and was soon joined in the penalty box by his younger brother, Florian, the two grinning together on the arena’s big screen.

But the six-foot-three, 207-pound Bauer had the last laugh, scoring his first career goal with 2:39 left in regulation to ignite the comeback.

“That’s a long, hard stretch, but this group believed in each other,” said Bauer, his fists still dripping blood after his tilt with the older Xhekaj. “We had each other’s backs in that room, the guys had my back on the ice tonight. I blacked out for the rest of it.

“I don’t know if I wanted to win a hockey game more in my life.”

Morgan Barron made it 4-2 at 18:03, with Bauer earning an assist that completed his Gordie Howe hat trick. Connor then tied it with two one-timers 27 seconds apart with the goalie pulled — the second coming on the power play — before Samberg finished the job.

Over in the Canadiens’ locker room, players had trouble explaining how they fell apart.

“I guess (we) thought the game was over,” said Canadiens winger Cole Caufield, who scored his second of the game early in the third period to make it 4-0. “We had a four-goal lead. There’s no excuse for this. It’s terrible.”

Head coach Martin St. Louis said the Canadiens “got what we deserved.”

“We were winning, but we weren’t outplaying them,” the Hall of Fame winger said. “If you look at the game as a whole, forget the score, Winnipeg was the better team tonight.

“How the whole thing happened, that’s hard to explain. I’ve never been part of anything like that.”

The Jets entered desperate for their first win since Oct. 13, and their first since Hellebuyck’s trade to the New Jersey Devils ended a tumultuous finish to his Jets tenure.

They were coming off a 7-0 defeat to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday that Connor, an 11-year veteran, called a “low point” with the franchise. That loss raised questions about Arniel’s future behind the bench heading into Tuesday night’s game.

It’s now a night the Jets hope they can look back on as the turning point in their season.

“I’m so happy that we won tonight,” Arniel said. “This is November 3rd, this isn’t February and March. To me, we’re still in the hunt. Going into this game, we were four points out of a playoff spot in the West.

“You just gotta stay in the pack. I know it’s been a grind for us, but we just gotta stay in it. And hopefully this is the jump-start that we needed.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press