Winnipeg @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 2, 2018 ) Florida 4, Winnipeg 2

Joel Quenneville has coached 1,654 games in the NHL, but even he was surprised at what he saw Tuesday from his Florida Panthers, who rallied from four goals down to stun Boston on the road in a shootout. The Panthers return home Thursday to face the Winnipeg Jets after a wild night during which Florida gave up four second-period goals, answered with four goals in the third, and prevailed when Vincent Trocheck and Mike Hoffman scored in the shootout.

“Well, that was the improbable one,” Quenneville told reporters postgame, after the Panthers got a pair of power-play goals during the third-period outburst and goaltender Sam Montembeault stopped all 15 shots he faced in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky. “Didn’t expect to do that one.” It marked the first time in franchise history the Panthers won a game in which they trailed by four goals, and earned them a second consecutive shootout victory as they return home to face the Jets, who were shut out 4-0 at home by Colorado on Tuesday. Winnipeg outshot the Avalanche 40-25 but could not crack backup goaltender Adam Werner in his NHL debut as their five-game point streak ended. “It just felt like we were right there, and the puck just kind of didn’t go our way a couple of times,” Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey told the media afterward. “We had a lot of chances. Give (Werner) credit.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), FS Florida

ABOUT THE JETS (10-8-1): Winnipeg has been resilient through its first 19 games, rallying to win five times when trailing after 40 minutes and posting a 6-0-1 record in overtime or the shootout. Forward Patrik Laine led the Jets with eight shots on goal against Colorado but has only four goals through 17 games - just one in his past 12 after beginning the season with three in his first five contests. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who was 3-0-1 with a .959 save percentage and six goals allowed in his previous four games entering Tuesday, stopped 21 of 25 shots against the Avalanche.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (9-4-5): Defenseman Aaron Ekblad jump-started the rally Tuesday by scoring 50 seconds into the third period, giving him two goals and six assists in his past 12 games. Defenseman Keith Yandle tied the game at 18:21 of the third, and has nine points (eight assists) in his past seven games after finishing Tuesday with a goal and two assists. Left wing Jonathan Huberdeau recorded three assists against Boston, moving him into a tie for the team lead in points with captain Aleksander Barkov at 24.

OVERTIME

1. Winnipeg F Blake Wheeler, who finished 14th in the league last season in points (91), has just four points in his past 13 games and 10 points on the season.

2. Bobrovsky, in his first season with Florida, has allowed an NHL-most 47 goals on the season entering Wednesday and gave up 11 in the past three games with an .878 save percentage.

3. Barkov extended his point streak to six games (five goals, six assists) with a pair of assists Tuesday.

PREDICTION: Jets 5, Panthers 3