Winnipeg Jets Overcome 4-0 Deficit to Beat Canadiens in Overtime

The Winnipeg Jets turned a 4-0 deficit into a 5-4 overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, a comeback that produced the first game-winning goal by a Winnipeg defenseman this season, NHL.com reported. Winnipeg trailed 4-0 with 2:39 remaining in regulation before scoring four unanswered goals, the last of them coming in overtime when defenseman Samberg beat Montreal to end the game.

The Jets have been playing without Josh Morrissey, and Samberg’s winner gave Winnipeg its first defenseman game-winning goal this season — a notable jolt for a club that managed only four such goals all of last season, a total that tied for 28th out of 32 teams. It was also the third time this season the Jets have had goals from two different defensemen in the same game, joining the Oct. 29 win over the Lightning and the Oct. 2 win over the Bruins, with Samberg involved in the past two of those outings.

Puck Possession Told the Story Before the Scoreboard Caught Up

Long before the goals started falling, the underlying numbers showed Winnipeg dictating play. Per NHL EDGE IQ data cited by NHL.com, the Jets controlled “Ice Tilt” — a measure of territorial momentum — by a margin of 36:05 to 23:55 in regulation, even while trailing 4-0. At 5-on-5, Winnipeg outchanced Montreal by a 57.6 to 42.4 percent margin in shot attempts. Across all situations, the Jets generated 87 shot attempts to Montreal’s 47 and put 47 shots on goal to the Canadiens’ 22.

A HISTORIC COMEBACK! ✈️ The @NHLJets had a 1.0% chance to win on @Polymarket late in the third period! pic.twitter.com/5WudkL4JUw

— https://x.com/NHL/status/2117826435805237573

The rush numbers were even more lopsided. Within five seconds of the puck crossing the offensive blue line, Winnipeg held a 17-6 advantage in shot attempts and a 9-0 edge in scoring chances over Montreal. That speed advantage is what eventually cracked a 4-0 game open: the first two comeback goals came at 5-on-5, rewarding the possession metrics that had been building all night, while the third and fourth goals arrived with an extra attacker late in the third period.

Bauer’s First Career Goal Starts the Avalanche

Tyrel Bauer scored Winnipeg’s first goal at 17:21 of the third period, his first NHL career goal, and the moment the comeback became real. NHL.com lists Bauer as a defenseman; newsbreak.com identified him as a forward in its game story.

Winnipeg Jets Make History with 4 Goal Comeback To Beat Canadiens! | Illegal Curve Post-Game Show

Tyrel Bauer said that the comeback was a long, hard stretch but that the group believed in each other and was proud of that, adding that they had each other’s backs in the room and on the ice. Bauer said he blacked out for the rest of the game but that it was fun and that they needed that as a group, stating they are going to run with that and not look back.

Forward Kyle Connor then tied the game with a power-play goal with 33 seconds remaining in the third period — the lowest-probability goal of Winnipeg’s five on the night, according to NHL EDGE IQ’s Projected Goal Rate data.

The Winnipeg Jets Just Pulled Off The GREATEST Comeback EVER 🔥 | FN Barn Burner

Samberg’s Overtime Winner Carries the Highest Probability of the Night

Samberg’s game-winner had the highest Projected Goal Rate of any of Winnipeg’s five goals at 10.07 percent, making it the most likely puck to find the net among the Jets’ tallies. The sequence — Bauer at 5-on-5, Connor on the man advantage, then Samberg in overtime — showed a team scoring in every situation it needed to.

For a blue line operating without Morrissey, the production is a signal rather than a blip.

Jets’ historic comeback against Canadiens fueled by puck possession, mid-range prowess — Photo: newsbreak.com

Why the Comeback Cuts Both Ways

The counterargument is baked into the box score: two of the four comeback goals came with Montreal’s goaltender pulled, meaning the final margin was manufactured partly by empty-net chaos rather than pure 5-on-5 dominance. The possession metrics were genuinely strong — the 87-47 shot-attempt edge and the 9-0 rush scoring-chance advantage are not numbers a team flukes into — but a 4-0 hole is a 4-0 hole, and teams that routinely need extra attackers to close gaps tend to regress when the schedule tightens.

And for a Jets club playing without top defenseman Josh Morrissey, goals from defensemen Samberg and Bauer in the comeback provided a lift.

Winnipeg Jets snap losing streak with EPIC comeback win

The Jets will look to carry this momentum forward, with Tyrel Bauer’s postgame message stating that the team is going to run with the win and not look back, framing how the room intends to treat the comeback: not as a miracle to marvel at, but as proof the group can win when the game gets ugly.

Disclaimer: The analytical insights and data provided in this article are for informational and entertainment purposes only and do not constitute medical advice or sports betting recommendations.