Winnipeg Jets' Keaton Ellerby (7) checks Toronto Maple Leafs' Troy Bodie (40) during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Saturday, January 25, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
January 25, 2014 - 7:08 PM
WINNIPEG - Dustin Byfuglien fired a low shot past goalie Jonathan Bernier 2:44 into overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Winnipeg (24-24-5) was holding a 4-3 lead when Phil Kessel took a pass from James van Riemsdyk and fired a sharp-angled shot that beat goalie Ondrej Pavelec with 1:33 left in the third period to force extra time.
Rookie Mark Scheifele, defenceman Zach Bogosian and both Blake Wheeler and Bryan Little on the power play scored for the Jets, who outshot the Leafs 31-27 after regulation play and 32-28 following overtime.
Little also had an assist and Andrew Ladd added two assists.
Toronto (27-21-6) got a power-play goal from defenceman Dion Phaneuf, centre Troy Bodie scored his second of the season and defenceman Tim Gleason marked his first goal of the year.
Pavelec stop 24 of the 28 shots he faced.
James Reimer started for the Leafs, but let in four goals on 18 shots and was replaced by Bernier midway through the second period. Bernier stopped 13 of the 14 shots he faced.
The Jets went up 2-0 early in the first period after scoring on their first and fourth shots of the game.
Toronto coughed up the puck in its own end and Jets forward Evander Kane got it and sent a pass to Scheifele in the faceoff circle. Reimer got a piece of Scheifele's shot, but not enough as the Jets went up 1-0 at 3:10 on the rookie's 10th goal of the season.
Winnipeg made good on its first power play of the game, courtesy of a hooking penalty on Leafs defenceman Morgan Reilly.
Pavelec got things started with a pass out to defenceman Jacob Trouba, who then sent the puck to Wheeler just outside Toronto's blue line. Wheeler raced in alone on the Manitoba-born Reimer and put a shot through his pads at 6:34.
Toronto started dominating the play after falling behind, but the Jets sent a flurry of shots at Reimer in the dying seconds. The Leafs still outshot the home team 12-11 in the opening 20 minutes.
A five-goal second period included each team scoring twice in a span of 3:01.
The Leafs used a power play for Phaneuf's fifth goal of the season, a long one-timer straight at the net through traffic at 6:13 while Jets defenceman Keaton Ellerby was in the box for boarding.
Little's 17th goal of the season came just over a minute later as he redirected a shot by Toby Enstrom to make it 3-1.
Bogosian's shot 37 seconds later beat a partially screened Reimer and sent the goalie to the bench in favour of Bernier, who entered his 100th career game with his team down 4-1.
Toronto made it 4-2 on Bodie's goal 61 seconds later at 9:14 and then made it a one-goal deficit at 16:44 when Gleason's shot hit Trouba and went through Pavelec's pads.
Winnipeg had a 23-20 edge on shots after two.
The Leafs got a power play midway through the third period when Devon Setoguchi's clearing attempt went over the glass, but the Jets buckled down and averted a tying goal.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014