Connor gets goal No. 35, Jets defeat Devils for second straight win

NEWARK, N.J. -- Eric Comrie made 33 saves for the Winnipeg Jets in a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday.

"I kind of just play it one puck at a time and just go out there and focus on the process," Comrie said. "As soon as I start to think, 'Oh I'm feeling it,' that's when I'm kind of getting out of my moment and my game plan, so I want to make sure I don't deviate too far."
Comrie made 11 saves in the second period and eight in the third in his first start in five games for the Jets (26-22-10), who won their second straight after a 7-4 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
"I really felt Comrie kept the game calm; he slowed it down a bit for us," Winnipeg coach Dave Lowry said. "He allowed us to get through the second period, but credit to our guys, they came out in the third period and got our game back."

Jack Hughes scored, and Nico Daws made 28 saves in his sixth straight start for the Devils (21-32-5), who had a three-game home winning streak end.
"It's kind of an old theme for us where we missed too many opportunities," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "We made a big mistake early on the first goal, which hurt. Getting off to [a] start like that, we haven't given up many of those opportunities to make that mistake early, so it was frustrating."
Kyle Connor scored at 19:06 of the second period for a 2-1 lead on a backhand during a partial breakaway for his 35th goal and seventh game-winner of the season.
"I always want the puck, whether it's game on the line or first shift," Connor said. "It's no different when the game ramps up. You kind of get more into the game for sure."
Brenden Dillon gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 3:22 of the first period on a snap shot from the left face-off circle on a 2-on-1 with Mark Scheifele against defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
Hughes tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 18:27 on a one-timer from the right face-off circle.
"I think we outplayed them," Devils forward Pavel Zacha said. "I think we had a lot of chances and there's sometimes games like this where we just have to find a way."
Hughes led New Jersey with five shots in 21:45.
"Hughes came over to me after I made a save on him and just said, 'Hey, you keep making saves on all my good shots,'" Comrie said. "I said, 'Well, you scored one already. That's enough for you tonight.'"
Comrie won his only start with the Devils in 2020-21, 5-3 against the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 31, after being claimed off waivers from the Jets on Jan. 12. Winnipeg then claimed him off waivers from New Jersey on Feb. 18.
"I enjoyed every single second I was in New Jersey," Comrie said. "They had an unbelievable goalie coach (Dave Rogalski) here who actually helped my game a lot. He progressed me to the NHL level and I give him a lot of credit for what he did with me and, obviously, (Jets goalie coach) Wade Flaherty as well."

The 26-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Jets on July 27 and has won his past four starts. He is 7-2-1 this season.
"When [Comrie] gets his chance, he's been ready to go and just a great performance," Connor said. "He's such a hard worker; bit of a quiet kid in the locker room, but he's got a good quiet confidence about him and you can see it tonight for sure."
NOTES:Hughes extended his home point streak to 13 games (21 points; nine goals, 12 assists). The only Devils player to have a longer home point streak is Patrik Elias (17 games, 1999-00). Hughes has scored 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in his past 12 games. … Devils forward Jesper Bratt has a three-game assist streak (five assists). … Winnipeg is 9-0-1 against New Jersey dating to Nov. 29, 2016. ... Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey had four shots on goal, two hits, two blocked shots and led all skaters in ice time (26:40). ... Devils center Nico Hischier (lower body) missed his second straight game.