Jets recover for shootout win against Rangers

Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist for the Winnipeg Jets in a 3-2 shootout win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday.

“We're in a playoff push right now,” Vilardi said. “And that's bigger than my personal goals and points and whatnot. So, that's my job to produce, so I'm going to keep trying to do that and keep trying to set career highs every year.”

Adam Lowry scored, and Eric Comrie made 27 saves for the Jets (29-29-12), who ended a three-game skid (0-1-2) and have points in five of six (3-1-2). They are three points back of the Nashville Predators for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Nashville visits the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.

“It is a sprint to the finish,” said Lowry, the Winnipeg captain. “The margin for error is slim for us, and we know the position we are in and we know the teams coming up. But we have got to take care of the one game in front of us and not look to far ahead and hope you are getting help on the out-of-town scoreboard.”

Dylan Garand made 35 saves in his NHL debut for the Rangers (28-33-9), who’ve lost four straight (0-3-1) since winning four in a row. J.T. Miller had two assists.

“It was pretty surreal,” Garand said. “Really, just try to be present and then take it all in. It was everything you could ever hope and dream of, and you know it (stinks) to not get the win for the guys. But it was a dream come true.”

Lowry gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 13:06 of the first period. He won a puck battle inside the defensive zone and finished a quick passing play from Cole Perfetti and Vilardi with a tap-in at the crease.

“I like the way they sort of materialized coming out of our end off of coverage, and then the three of them sprint on the breakout,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “Real nice play. I like the fact that both guys drove, sort of the double drive, getting to that net, and real nice, nice finish. Nice pass by (Vilardi) to finish out to (Lowry).”

Tye Kartye tied it 1-1 just 41 seconds into the second period. Miller batted a contested puck to Kartye in the slot, and he went skate-to-stick and beat Comrie over his right pad.

Vilardi gave the Jets a 2-1 lead on a power play at 6:43 one-timing a feed from Kyle Connor in the slot. It was his 27th of the season, tying the career high he set with the Jets in 2024-25.

Mika Zibanejad tied it 2-2 at 14:03 on the power play with a one-timer from above the left dot.

“I think Mika has been arguably our best forward all year,” New York coach Mike Sullivan said. “Not just with how he’s scoring goals, but with how he’s playing the game. As far as his goal-scoring ability, I think it’s on display every night. … The puck comes off his stick differently than most, the way he shoots the puck, and that for me, is a sign of a true goal-scorer.”

Winnipeg was forced to kill a penalty in overtime after center Mark Scheifele was whistled for interference. Connor and Vilardi then scored in the shootout; Miller and Vincent Trocheck were unable to score for New York.

Comrie has won each of his past six starts since Jan. 9 and has a 1.48 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in that span.  

“Comrie made some saves, and he was lights-out in the shootout, and his streak of great play continues,” Lowry said. “That was a big (penalty) kill for us (in overtime), and Comrie was a big reason why.”

NOTES: Jets defenseman Neal Pionk had a game-high five shots on goal and played 25:27. … Zibanejad scored his 280th career goal with the Rangers, tying Adam Graves for fourth in franchise history; Rod Gilbert leads with 406. … Zibanejad reached the 30-goal mark for the fourth time in his career, all coming with New York. … Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider had a game-high five hits and was plus-1 in 24:38 of ice time.