TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Nino Niederreiter scored three goals and Brenden Dillon got his first two of the season, leading the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
Dillon snapped a 3-3 tie 3:23 into the third period when his slap shot from the left circle hit the far post and ricocheted in. Niederreiter then tipped in a Dillon shot at 7:16 for his third career hat trick.
The Jets (5-4-2) broke a three-game losing streak. They have points in six of their last seven games after a pair of overtime losses. They also improved to 23-6 against the Coyotes since 2011.
J.J. Moser, Liam O’Brien and Lawson Crouse scored for the Coyotes, who have lost eight in a row in the series. The Coyotes had won three of their first four at 5,000-seat Mullett Area and were looking for their best home start since winning nine of 10 in 2013-14.
The Jets are 3-1-2 under interim coach Scott Arniel, who is running the team while coach Rick Bowness is on a leave of absence.
Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves for the Jets, and Karel Vejmelka had 22 stops for the Coyotes.
The Coyotes scored the only goal of the first period when Moser skated in alone and beat Hellebuyck at 5:31. Matias Maccelli picked up an assist, extending his point streak to a career-long eight games.
O’Brien made it 2-0 after a turnover by Mark Scheifele, whose pass from behind his net was intercepted by Jack McBain and put on net. Hellebuyck saved the initial shot but O’Brien poked in the rebound at 5:49 of the second period.
Niederreiter and Dillon scored 2:34 apart in the second, tying it at 2. Niederreiter tipped in a pass from Mason Appleton at 7:31, and Dillon scored on a wrist shot at 10:05 after a cross-ice pass from Vladislav Namestnikov.
Crouse got his third goal in two games with two seconds remaining on a power play at 14:47, when he put a rebound into an open side of the net. Niederreiter tied on a power play at 17:01.
UP NEXT
Jets: At St. Louis on Tuesday.
Coyotes: Host Seattle on Tuesday.
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