The Anaheim Ducks staged a dramatic comeback to defeat the Winnipeg Jets 5-4 in overtime on Friday night at Honda Center. Chris Kreider scored the game-winning goal with 13 seconds left in the extra frame, capping a third-period rally where Anaheim erased a two-goal deficit. Beckett Sennecke recorded three assists, while Elias Salomonsson notched his first NHL goal for Winnipeg.
The Anaheim Ducks improved to 32-23-3 with their fourth straight win, leading the NHL with nine multi-goal comeback victories this season. Facing a 3-1 deficit entering the third period, Anaheim struck quickly. Leo Carlsson cut the lead to 3-2 at 6:32 on a power play, knocking in a rebound after Jackson LaCombe batted the puck out of midair over Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck. Pavel Mintyukov tied the game at 3-3 at 9:59, burying a rebound from the bottom of the left circle.
Ryan Poehling gave the Ducks their first lead at 4-3 with 3:10 left in regulation, lifting a rolling puck over Hellebuyck's glove after a rush. Winnipeg responded late, pulling Hellebuyck for an extra attacker, as Kyle Connor tied it at 4-4 at 18:38 with a one-timer off Cole Perfetti's spinning pass from the right circle.
In overtime, Sennecke toe-dragged Logan Stanley in the slot and passed to Kreider, who tapped it in at the left post. Lukas Dostal made 29 saves for Anaheim, while Hellebuyck stopped 35 shots in his first start since helping Team USA win gold at the 2026 Olympics.
For the Jets (23-26-9), Alex Iafallo and Connor each had a goal and an assist, with Logan Stanley and Perfetti adding two assists apiece. Gabriel Vilardi scored a power-play goal in the second to make it 2-0. Elias Salomonsson, 21, scored his first NHL goal at 1:27 of the third, snapping a shot from above the right circle after a defensive-zone turnover.
"We just have that belief in ourselves that we're never out of it," Sennecke said. "That's kind of the biggest thing in these comeback wins is we never think we're out of it, and we know we can score goals."
Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel noted, "Obviously, we had the two-goal lead twice and gave that up. We had some leads that we should have found a way to bring home."
The Jets went 3-9 in games decided beyond regulation this season, while Anaheim improved to 13-3. Hellebuyck posted a .956 save percentage at the Olympics. Forward Mark Scheifele appeared to suffer a lower-body injury late in overtime but is expected to play Sunday against San Jose. Vladislav Namestnikov is week to week with a lower-body injury from a second-period collision.
