WINNIPEG 鈥� The Jets found an unlikely hero Thursday night.
Defenceman Dylan DeMelo scored the winner with 27 seconds left to give Winnipeg a 2-1 triumph over the Seattle Kraken before 13,559 fans at Canada Life Centre.
Nikolaj Ehlers grabbed the puck that had bounced off a stanchion and then fed DeMelo at the point. DeMelo's screened shot beat Seattle netminder Joey Accord.
鈥淵eah, that was awesome,鈥� said DeMelo, who scored just his second goal of the season. 鈥淥bviously I鈥檓 a guy who doesn鈥檛 score a lot.鈥�
DeMelo also happened to score in his 600th career NHL game.
鈥淪ix hundred games is a great accomplishment, I鈥檓 proud of it,鈥� said the 31-year-old from London, Ont.
"It takes a lot of people to help you get there. That was kind of on my mind before the game, between your family and friends, your coaches and teammates and all the staff to help get you here, that was special in its own right.
"To get the game-winner, that just kind of put the cherry on the top, and then to get the win, it was a really special night and one that I鈥檒l remember."
There was extra enthusiasm in his team's celebration of his goal.
鈥淚t was great,鈥� DeMelo said. 鈥淚n our initial huddle, guys were going nuts, profanities and all that fun stuff. Then, you come to the bench and just see everybody鈥檚 face just lighting up.
"But then, there鈥檚 (27) seconds (left) and we need to get right back into it to get the win. Come into the room and everybody is all jacked up. We鈥檝e got a special group. Everybody makes you feel special, no matter your role here."
DeMelo looked skyward after he scored the rare marker.
鈥淚t was just euphoria, to be honest with you,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was just so pumped. I had my hands up in the air for quite a while, so I just thought I鈥檇 look up there as well to see if there was anything up there. You just kind of let your emotions take over. And with the time of the game, you just kind of let loose a little bit.
"It wasn鈥檛 too crazy, but like I said, I wasn鈥檛 necessarily surprised, but you just let your emotions get the best of you a little bit there.鈥�
Ehlers handled the lucky bounce off the boards for the Jets to set up DeMelo.
鈥淎 great bounce off the boards and I saw it coming out, right into the middle and tried to get my stick on it,鈥� Ehlers said. 鈥淎nd saw the forward bite down on me, and Smoky (DeMelo) came in a pretty good position. (Adam Lowry) and Al (Iafallo) going to the net, creating some traffic, and a great shot.鈥�
Daccord deserved a better fate, said Kraken coach Dan Bylsma.
鈥淗e probably doesn鈥檛 have a chance on the last one because he can鈥檛 see it,鈥� he said. 鈥淧retty much everything else he was turning aside and was real strong in there. Great puck play from him.鈥�
Jets coach Scott Arniel was pleased for DeMelo.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure he鈥檒l remember that one,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 awesome. A big game like that and to finish it like that, top shelf, it鈥檚 nice to see.
鈥淲e have our captains and our assistants, but we also have our leadership group and he's a part of that. He's earned that. We just felt that he's a guy, a voice.
"Six hundred games, he's been around and he's played in a lot of different situations. When you're thrust into a role like he has been the last few years of playing top-pairing (minutes), there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that.
"The biggest thing for those guys, for most of those guys, is they lead by example. How they play, how they practise, how they work out and how they do their things off the ice. That's what Mel does. He's a great example for young defencemen. He's a great example for players that want to play 600 games or more. He just goes about his business every day and he's pretty consistent."
Mark Scheifele, who scored Winnipeg鈥檚 other goal on the power play, extended his point streak to seven games and his goal-scoring streak to four. Matty Beniers scored Seattle鈥檚 lone goal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a disappointing result with the effort and the battle that we put in for 60 minutes,鈥� Bylsma said.
NOTES: Scheifele鈥檚 goal extended Winnipeg鈥檚 NHL-leading power-play goal tally to 43 鈥� With an assist on the opening goal, Kaapo Kakko extended his point streak to four games 鈥� Winnipeg鈥檚 Rasmus Kupari played in his 200th NHL career game.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 16, 2025.
Jim Bender, The Canadian Press
