Mark Scheifele scored with 1.6 seconds remaining in the third period to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday.
With the period winding down and the Jets on a 5-on-3 power play, Scheifele converted a pass from Cole Perfetti before firing home a slapshot to seal the win at Canada Life Centre.
"(Perfetti) and Gabe (Vilardi) getting dirty in the corner and making a great play," Scheifele said of his goal after the win. "That was an unbelievable pass and you don't quit until the buzzer, and that was exactly that."
Scheifele said that he "had no idea" how much time was left on the clock when he secured the pass from Perfetti, but added that he "wasn't going to waste (his) time looking at the clock" when the puck came out.
Tampa Bay tied the game 3-3 with a pair of Pontus Holmberg goals 26 seconds apart late in the third period.
"It's not very fun," Scheifele said of the swing on the scoreboard. "It's definitely not how we wanted to win that game, but kudos to them. ... That's a good hockey team right there. They don't quit. Even on a back-to-back, being down three, they kept making plays, they kept doing good things.
"We're just happy we got the win."
Morgan Barron, Brayden Yager and Perfetti also scored for Winnipeg (7-8-3), which extended its win streak to three games after dropping its previous nine. Rookie Viggo Bjorck tallied two assists.
Yager's tally marked his first NHL goal in his sixth game with the Jets.
"That was really cool," the 21-year-old said post-game. "Mom, dad and grandpa were here, so pretty cool to do it in front of them. Just a great play by (Bjorck) there to touch it over to me, and I had a pretty open net.
"Unbelievable feeling and a dream come true."
Stuart Skinner made 18 saves for the Jets.
Holmberg scored twice and Brandon Hagel added the other goal for Tampa Bay (11-4-2), which snapped its three-game win streak as the Lightning opened a three-game road trip. Defenceman Erik Cernak added two assists.
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 21 shots for the visitors.
Winnipeg went 3-for-5 on the power play, while Tampa Bay was 0-for-4.
Takeaways
Lightning: Tampa Bay started strong but looked sluggish for much of the game before exploding for three third-period goals. Cernak put Winnipeg on the two-man advantage late by gloving the puck and throwing it up ice.
Jets: Winnipeg's sleepy power play erupted for three goals, including the game-winner. Bjorck has three points in his last two games after going pointless through the first 16.
Key moment
Tampa's Holmberg was given a double-minor penalty in the third period for high-sticking Yager minutes into the third period, leading to Yager scoring his first NHL goal on the ensuing man-advantage to put the Jets up 3-0.
Key stat
Winnipeg scored the opening goal for a second consecutive game after allowing the first goal in 13 of its previous 15. It was vital that the Jets took the lead first as Tampa Bay is 8-0-1 when scoring first.
Up next
Lightning: Visit the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
Jets: Host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.
— with files from Sportsnet Staff
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