Connor wins it late for Jets against Blue Jackets

WINNIPEG --Kyle Connor broke a tie with 1:14 remaining in the third period to help the Winnipeg Jets defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 at Bell MTS Place on Thursday.

"The puck got rimmed down low to Bryan Little] and he made an incredible pass on his backhand there and found me in the slot," Connor said. "Just tried to get it off quick."
Connor has nine goals in his past 11 games. He scored twice and had the only goal in the shootout in a 4-3 win at the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
***[WATCH: [All Blue Jackets vs. Jets highlights]*
"It's fun to be part of this group," Connor said. "Everybody from Day One is trying to get better. That's what makes this group great. I think everybody's helping each other get to that next level."
Jack Roslovic tied the game 3-3 on the power play at 8:47 of the third for Winnipeg (33-16-2), which has won six of eight. Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves.

Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets (28-19-3), who have lost four straight. Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves.
"It [stinks]," Columbus captain Nick Foligno said. "It [stinks] to lose that way in the last minute. Guys played really hard, played to our identity tonight, and [it] just doesn't sit well with me getting scored on late like that."
Mark Scheifele gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 4:34 of the first period, scoring with a one-timer off a pass from Blake Wheeler.
Panarin tied it 1-1, beating Hellebuyck with a wrist shot at 8:52 for his 20th goal.
Josh Anderson gave the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead at 13:30, scoring from the slot off a pass from Panarin.
"It's a hard one for our guys, for sure," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "They played hard, did a lot better job as far as what we asked for them in the battles. It's a tough one not to come up with anything."
Mason Appleton tied it 2-2, scoring on a backhand that trickled through Bobrovsky's pads at 13:21 of the second period.
The tie lasted 57 seconds. Oliver Bjorkstrand roofed a wrist shot to give the Blue Jackets a 3-2 lead at 14:18.
Columbus forward Cam Atkinson was hit in the face with a puck in warmups and did not play. Mark Letestu took his spot, playing 9:54 in his season debut. Tortorella did not have an update on Atkinson, who leads the Blue Jackets with 28 goals and is second to Panarin with 50 points.
"I thought our guys rallied, played a really good hockey game," Tortorella said of the response to Atkinson's injury.

They said it

"It's a good step in the right direction, though, of answering the bell and getting challenged by [coach John Tortorella] and ourselves, really. It wasn't really so much [Tortorella], it was we didn't feel like we played our best game so we wanted to come out and play a real good game, and we did." -- Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno on their response after Tortorella called a 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday "embarrassing"
"He's been really hot. It seems that guys just take turns catching on fire like that. He's the guy with the really hot stick right now. Just keep looking for him, keep feeding him the puck, and let him go to work." -- Jets forward Bryan Little on Kyle Connor

Need to know

Panarin has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in his past 16 games. He is the seventh undrafted player to score at least 20 goals in each of his first four NHL seasons since 1963-64. … Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner will be out 1-3 weeks with an infected ankle laceration. He sustained a cut blocking a shot Jan. 12 against the Washington Capitals, and it became infected Tuesday. … Wheeler has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in his past 11 games. … Scheifele has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games. … Winnipeg has won six in a row at home, tied for the longest active streak in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks.

What's next

Blue Jackets:Host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-MW, NHL.TV)
Jets: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN360, SNW, PRIME, NHL.TV)