Confidence, wins return as Jets shake off the ‘fragile’ label

Winnipeg Jets' Dylan DeMelo (second left) celebrates his goal against the New York Islanders with Mark Scheifele (left), Josh Morrissey (second right) and Vladislav Namestnikov (7) during the second period of their NHL hockey game in Winnipeg, Tuesday January 13, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Greenslade

WINNIPEG — During their 11-game losing streak, even opposing coaches called the Winnipeg Jets fragile.

Blowing leads usually sunk them because of that shaky mindset.

But they are different now. The Jets rebounded from blowing a three-goal lead to post a 5-4 victory over the New York Islanders before 14,114 witnesses at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night.

“Tentative, afraid to make plays because we were afraid that maybe something bad would happen,” said Jets coach Scott Arniel. “Now, you are seeing each and every line going out there with confidence, making plays and spending time in the offensive zone with that confidence.”

Winnipeg had taken a 3-0 lead on goals by Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Jonathan Toews. But the Islanders scored three goals in a span of 2:41 in the second period to tie the game 3-3.

The Jets, however, took a 5-3 lead into the third period on goals by Dylan DeMelo and Adam Lowry, who scored the eventual winner with 20 seconds left in the middle frame.

“At the end of the day, we got back to what we had to do,” Arniel said. “Obviously, that was a big goal at the end (of the second) for us as we had traffic again, a shot from the top, and those are the things you want to continue to do, and we did it.”

Arniel was asked what that kind of game does for his blood pressure.

“I have had a lot of good practice over the last month,” he said with a wide smile.

All five Winnipeg goals came off of long, screened shots.

“A bit of a roller-coaster, for sure,” DeMelo said. “Feeling good and they pop in a couple pretty quick and then, ‘Oh-oh, here we go.’ But we settled in and we just said, ‘Let’s go after them again and get back to what we were doing (to build the lead) — to get on the forecheck.’

“And that’s exactly what happened on that goal. It was a great forecheck, a great battle, we win it. (Mark Scheifele) gets it and makes a great play through the guy, there’s traffic at the net front and that got us going. We just had to get back to the basics and get back to how we were playing when we got that lead and just go after them. We did a good job of answering that.”

Most importantly, the players stayed positive on the bench.

“Even when they scored to make it 3-1, 3-2, we were like, ‘OK, let’s just go back at them and be on our toes’ because, if you’re just going to sit back in this league, you’re just going to give the other team momentum,” DeMelo said. “At the end of the day, whatever happens you’ve got to bury it, put it in the past and move on and go win your next shift.”

The Jets finished their five-game homestand with a 3-1-1 record.

“It feels good,” DeMelo said. “We did a lot of good things. Tonight got away from us a little bit there in the second (period), but a good response. We were able to get the lead, we made it a little interesting at the end there, but we did a good job in the third overall, of not giving them many looks until the six-on-five. Good to finish it off.

“Now we’ve got to take that act on the road. We’ve got a huge game against Minnesota coming up (Thursday).”

Matthew Schaefer scored with 45 seconds left and Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin pulled to make the score 5-4.

“We were playing well,” said Scheifele, who had two assists. “Obviously, getting up 3-0, but then giving it right back. It sucked, but the response after that was awesome by everyone. A win’s a win.”

Islanders captain Anders Lee was frustrated with the way New York lost after bouncing back.

“I thought we had a good response after they went up three,” he said. “We put in three pretty quick. But then, they responded to us. Defensively, we have to be better. It wasn’t our best tonight.”

With his second assist, Scheifele recorded his 500th career helper.

“That is special, obviously,” Arniel said. “He has been around a long time and he has been extremely consistent over his career. You guys have seen him certainly evolve from the young player he was when he first came here and now, he is a veteran guy who is an elite player. He scores and he makes plays. That is a great number to be at.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2026.

Jim Bender, The Canadian Press