Jets finish season on winning note after comeback victory over Seattle

WINNIPEG - The importance of this home stand for the Winnipeg Jets, even with a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs out of reach, was to play with pride and show the fans the room hadn't quit.
"I had no doubt we'd come in and finish the right way," said captain Blake Wheeler.
That's exactly what the Jets did, winning three straight games, then rallying in the third period of the fourth and final contest against the Seattle Kraken for a 4-3 victory.
The four-game win streak gives the Jets their best home points percentage in the past three seasons (0.598) and came immediately on the heels of a four-game losing streak on the road.
"A pretty sour taste coming off that - four straight losses and how we lost the games," said Wheeler. "We've been in this situation before here, and I've always been proud of the fact that we've never been a team that's just tanked and stopped playing."

Morgan Barron opened the scoring with his second of the season, and first on home ice, by capitalizing on a rush chance. A turnover by Seattle forward Matty Beniers at the Winnipeg blue line sent the Jets the other way, and Harkins found Barron in the middle of the ice. The big forward lifted the puck past Chris Driedger just 3:47 into the hockey game.

It stayed that way until nearly six minutes into the second, when Seattle got back on even terms thanks to a power play goal from Alex Wennberg. With Wheeler in the box for hooking, Wennberg capitalized on a cross-crease pass from Jared McCann for his 11th of the season, beating a sprawling Eric Comrie.
It was the first goal Comrie had given up in 96:35, as he earned his first career shutout in his last outing - a 35-save effort against Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Seattle added two more in a 55-second span to open a 3-1 lead.
First, Dylan Sprong was sent in alone by Derrick Pouliot, and Sprong beat Comrie over the glove for his 14th of the campaign, making it 2-1 with 7:36 left in the middle frame.

Then, Riley Sheahan added his fourth of the campaign. He was perched in front of Comrie and when Wennberg's pass from the left wall came to the front of the net and ticked off the stick off Paul Stastny, Sheahan flipped it past Comrie to up the Seattle lead to 3-1.
"I didn't really care for the second period tonight, but I liked the third," said Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry. "I liked the way the guys continued to play right to the end and the way they played for Coms tonight."
Comrie shut the door after that, finishing with 27 saves for his 10th win of the season.
Meanwhile, his teammates went to work at the other end.

The Jets started the third with a bang, as Wheeler pounded a loose puck off an offensive zone face-off past Driedger to pull the Jets within one 4:49 into the final period. Wheeler's 17th of the campaign was assisted by Paul Stastny, who picked up his 800th career NHL point.
"We had to earn it," Stastny said, before praising his line mates in Wheeler, and Nikolaj Ehlers - who grabbed the milestone puck.
"Ehlers is two goals away from 30 and I don't think he shot one puck," said Stastny. "He was trying to find me every single time. Wheels same thing.
"It shows the unselfishness of both those guys. Playing with those two, I've played with some good players, had some good line combinations, but that's up there. That was just fun."
Then, the Jets went "bang bang," as retiring Jets broadcaster Dennis Beyak would say, tying the game 2:37 later on a Dominic Toninato one-timer from the top of the right circle. Jansen Harkins picked up his second assist of the game.
Barron also had an assist on the play, giving him his second multi-point performance in his 14th game as a member of the Jets.

"That was the whole reason we stayed with our group," said Lowry. "There had been some guys deserving of an opportunity to play a little bit more. They took advantage of the opportunities that were presented."
And then, the game-winner came 1:49 after that, as Kyle Connor ripped home his 47th of the season - off a Pierre-Luc Dubois pass - through Driedger's legs to put the Jets in front for good, 4-3.
With the win, the Jets finish the season 39-32-11. There is disappointment in missing the postseason, as it's the first time the Jets won't play in the playoffs since the 2016-17 season.
Finishing the right way, despite that adversity and all the obstacles the group faced throughout the season, speaks volumes about this year's edition of the Jets.
"It's just disappointing," said Wheeler. "Collectively, as a group, we weren't able to figure it out. I said all year, and I still believe this, there is a good hockey team in there."