WINNIPEG — Gabriel Vilardi scored had a goal and assist to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a hard-fought 5-3 triumph over the Calgary Flames on Friday night.
Alex Iafallo, Vladislav Namestnikov, Kyle Connor and Jonathan Toews also scored for the Jets. Josh Morrissey chipped in with three assists.
Blake Coleman, Mikael Backlund and Nazem Kadri replied for Calgary.
The Flames are now winless in their last eight games.
Backup netminder Eric Comrie made 30 saves for Winnipeg (5-1-0) before 13,917 fans at Canada Life Centre.
Dustin Wolf stopped 27 shots for Calgary (1-7-1).
Calgary had pulled to within 4-3 almost midway through the third period. Coleman, who was set up alone in front of Comrie by Backlund, made no mistake in getting the puck past him. The Jets then held on for the win.
The Jets took a 4-2 lead into the third period when Iafallo scored on the power play with 1:10 left in the second, converting a nifty pass from Vilardi. Mark Scheifele also assisted.
Calgary had pulled to within 3-2 when Backlund was sent in alone on Comrie by Coleman.
Vilardi upped the lead to 3-1 on the power play midway through the middle frame, backhanding a shot past Wolf from the side of the net on a setup from Scheifele. Morrissey also assisted.
Exactly 65 seconds after Winnipeg had tied the score, Toews gave the Jets a 2-1 lead when he deflected a Morrissey pass past Wolf on his doorstep. Calgary challenged for goalie interference but lost and was penalized.
The Jets knotted the score at 1-1 at 5:19 of the second. Connorâ€s one-timer on a perfect pass from Morrissey on a 2-on-1 beat Wolf, who got a piece of the shot. Dylan DeMelo also assisted.
Calgary opened the scoring early in the first period on their second straight power play. With DeMelo off for tripping, Kadriâ€s one-timer beat Comrie cleanly on a setup from Morgan Frost. Zayne Parekh also assisted.
Jets: They were on their heels in the first period, trailing 1-0 and being outshot 9-5. But they came to life in the second, outscoring Calgary 4-1 and outshooting the Flames 16-9.
Flames: After outworking the Jets in the first period, taking a 1-0 lead, they got into penalty trouble in the second, allowing two power-play goals and a total of four in the second 20 minutes.
After the Jets finally snapped a four-period goalless streak when Connor scored in the second, Toews gave Winnipeg a 2-1 lead when he deflected a Morrissey pass past Wolf. The Flames then lost their challenge for goalie interference. Winnipeg then upped the score to 3-1 and 4-2 before the period ended.
Winnipeg scored two power-play goals in the second period.
Flames: Host the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Jets: Host the Utah Mammoth on Sunday.
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