DeMelo scores late winner for Winnipeg Jets in 2-1 win over Seattle Kraken

By Canadian Press on January 16, 2025.

WINNIPEG — Dylan DeMelo scored with 27 seconds left in regulation to give the Winnipeg Jets a hard-earned 2-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.

Mark Scheifele scored a power-play goal for Winnipeg (31-12-3) and Matty Beniers replied for Seattle (19-24-3).

Winnipeg’s goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 18 saves and his Seattle counterpart Joey Daccord stopped 34 shots at Canada Life Centre.

The Jets stretched their point streak to five games (4-0-1) and improved to 8-2-2 in their last 12.

The Kraken capped a 2-3 road trip while Winnipeg played the seventh of an eight-game homestand.

The Jets trailed by a goal when Scheifele’s power-play goal drew the hosts even at 9:35 of the second period.

With Jamie Oleksiak off for interference, Scheifele whipped a Kyle Connor rebound past Daccord.

Hellebuyck kept it a 1-1 game when he stopped Andre Burakovsky on a breakaway late in the second.

Beniers opened the scoring midway through the opening period when he converted a perfect pass from Kaapo Kakko on Hellebuyck’s doorstep.

Takeaways

Jets: Outplayed in the opening period, Winnipeg came alive in the second, outshooting Seattle 20-8 and scoring a power-play goal to knot the score 1-1 heading into the third period. They continued the barrage of shots, finally beating Daccord again with DeMelo’s heroics.

Kraken: Showed no signs of fatigue in the last of a five-game road trip. The Kraken were all over the Jets in the first period when they scored first and outshot Winnipeg 11-8. But the Jets kept putting the pressure on in the last two periods.

Key moment

DeMelo’s goal set up by Nikolaj Ehlers.

Key stat

The Jets outshot Seattle 36-19.

Up next

The Jets host the Calgary Flames on Saturday in the last game of in the last game of their longest homestand of the season.

The Kraken are at home to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 16, 2025.

Jim Bender, The Canadian Press