Ehlers scores twice late to lift Jets to win against Ducks

ANAHEIM -- Nikolaj Ehlers scored two goals 19 seconds apart late in the third period to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Tuesday.

Ehlers tied it 3-3 with 1:20 remaining, getting to the puck off a face-off and scoring short side from low in the left circle with Connor Hellebuyck pulled for the extra skater. He then gave Winnipeg a 4-3 lead with 1:01 left when his shot redirected in off Ducks defenseman Jamie Drysdale.
"Crazy," Ehlers said. "It just shows that we don't quit in that room. We keep going. We came back and we came back, so that's very exciting for us."
Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Hellebuyck made 32 saves for the Jets (3-2-1), who have won three in a row.
"Nik Ehlers leading the charge there with that unbelievable tying goal and then just some shrapnel to the net on the next one," Copp said. "It definitely feels like we stole two points, but it's important for teams like us to gut through wins like this."
Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano each had a goal and an assist, and John Gibson made 21 saves for the Ducks (2-4-1), who have lost four in a row (0-3-1).
"For 58 minutes, that was probably the best game we've played, but the game's 60 minutes, " Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. "So, unacceptable."

The Jets lost a similar game to the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 19. Winnipeg had a two-goal lead with five minutes remaining in regulation, but the Wild scored twice to tie it before winning 6-5 in overtime.
"You just don't ever see it, then it happens to you and you end up losing the game," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. "It's painful."
Evgeny Svechnikov scored his first goal with the Jets at 2:07 of the second period to make it 1-0. He took a backhand pass from Pierre-Luc Dubois at the right hash marks and shot blocker side on Gibson.
Milano tied it 1-1 at 5:04 of the second, beating Hellebuyck with a one-timer following a turnover by defenseman Nate Schmidt.
"I thought Sonny Milano played a [heck] of a game tonight," Zegras said. "All over it on the forecheck."
Josh Manson gave Anaheim a 2-1 lead at 1:39 of the third period following another giveaway by Schmidt, but Copp tied it 2-2 at 5:24 with a one-timer off a pass from Paul Stastny.

Zegras scored his first of the season to make it 3-2 at 12:15. Milano intercepted a drop pass by Dubois below the goal line and quickly sent a backhand feed to Zegras, who beat Hellebuyck glove side from the slot.
"Learning how to play with a lead is something, I think, we didn't do a whole lot of last year," Zegras said. "We've had a couple games this year where it's been tied, or we're up by one, and we're looking to hold that lead. That's just something we're going to have to learn how to do."
NOTES:The Jets played without forwards Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele because of NHL COVID-19 protocol. ... Hellebuyck is 9-2-1 in his career against the Ducks. . ... Ducks forward Troy Terry had the secondary assist on Manson's goal to extend his point streak to an NHL career-high five games (two goals, five assists). ... Forward Sam Carrick and defenseman Simon Benoit each made his season debut for Anaheim. Carrick had two shots and two hits in 9:51 of ice time, and Benoit had one shot, one hit and one block in 14:41.