Mercer Scores Twice Against Former Team as Jets Beat Devils 4-2

A night built for revenge

WINNIPEG — Dawson Mercer waited less than eight minutes to make his old team regret trading him. The Winnipeg Jets forward scored twice, including the game-winning goal in the third period, as the Jets beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night. Kyle Connor also scored twice, Nico Daws made 19 saves against his former club, and a capacity crowd of 15,321 turned the evening into something that felt far bigger than a regular-season game in November.

Mercer opened the scoring at 7:54 of the first period, circling from the corner to the high slot before firing a wrist shot through traffic that beat Jake Allen's blocker. Connor made it 2-0 at 15:06, also on the power play, when his attempted pass from the right circle went in off the left skate of New Jersey defenceman Brenden Dillon.

The Devils hit back in 44 seconds

New Jersey, which arrived in Winnipeg on a five-game winning streak, refused to fold. The Devils scored twice in 44 seconds early in the second period to wipe out the Jets' lead. Jesper Bratt cut the deficit to 2-1 at 1:14, finishing a one-timer from the bottom edge of the left circle after Arseny Gritsyuk fed him a one-handed, no-look pass from behind the net. Cody Glass evened the score at 1:58, beating Daws glove side when he deflected Johnathan Kovacevic's wrist shot from above the right circle.

The equaliser stunned the building, but the Jets steadied themselves and waited for their chance. That chance arrived late in the third period, when the Devils were caught with too many men on the ice. New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe later called the bench minor unacceptable, and the Jets made the visitors pay almost immediately.

Mercer delivers the winner

Mercer put Winnipeg ahead 3-2 at 11:58 of the third period, with 8:02 remaining, scoring from the bottom edge of the left face-off circle off a backhand pass through the crease by Alex Iafallo. Viggo Bjorck earned the secondary assist. It was the game-winner, on the power play, against the team that had traded him away less than three weeks earlier.

"Playing your old team the first time was definitely an exciting game for me," Mercer said. "The energy was pretty crazy, especially how we finished the game. We came back, that third period was pretty nice. To get the first one, and then the cherry on top for another one at the end definitely made my night." The fans had serenaded him with chants of his name all evening. "The 'Dawson Mercer' chants were pretty special," he added. "I haven't heard that before, so that was good."

Connor sealed the 4-2 win with an empty-net goal at 19:02 of the third period, his 15th goal of the season. Winnipeg outshot New Jersey 25-21, and the Jets outshot the Devils 12-4 in the third period alone.

The trade that shaped the night

Everything about the evening was shaped by the blockbuster trade of October 23, when the Jets sent goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to the Devils. Hellebuyck, who had requested a trade from Winnipeg and was suspended after not reporting to training camp, did not play. Keefe and general manager Sunny Mehta decided to rest him because of his recent workload, starting Allen instead. The home crowd booed Hellebuyck the moment he stepped onto the ice for warm-ups.

Mercer, Daws, Nick Bjugstad and Alexander Command came to Winnipeg in the deal, along with a 2027 seventh-round draft pick and a 2029 second-round pick. On Tuesday, the two who played made the trade look like a win for the Jets, at least for one night. "They were pretty excited about going against their old team, they were fired up," Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. "It wasn't just an average or ordinary game for those two. It was something where they wanted to put their best foot forward. And they both did. They both were outstanding."

A fourth straight win for the Jets

The result extended Winnipeg's winning streak to four games and lifted the Jets to 8-8-3, a remarkable recovery after they had lost their previous nine games, going 0-7-2. The Devils fell to 13-6-0, their five-game winning streak snapped, and Keefe was blunt about his team. "I didn't like our game overall," he said. "I didn't think we really had it today. The Jets found another level in the third and we didn't seem to have much energy to respond."

There were milestones elsewhere, too. Mark Scheifele recorded his 550th career assist on Connor's first goal, tying Dale Hawerchuk and Blake Wheeler for second place in Jets and Atlanta Thrashers history, behind Thomas Steen on 553. It was also the 66th time Scheifele and Connor had factored on the same goal, passing Hawerchuk and Paul MacLean for the most by a pair of teammates in franchise history. Connor recorded his 55th career multi-goal game, tying Scheifele for second-most behind Hawerchuk's 62. Cole Perfetti had two assists.

Arniel hopes the win brings some closure to the Hellebuyck saga. "We're mounting wins and that's so important," he said. "We weren't sure how this was going to all play out tonight. At the end of the day it was a fun building, it was a loud building, and we got the two points, which is important." The Jets now visit the Dallas Stars on Thursday and the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, while the Devils return home to face the Washington Capitals on Thursday.