Little lifts Jets past Flames 2-1 in OT in Heritage Classic

REGINA, Saskatchewan (AP) — Bryan Little scored at 3:04 of overtime to give the Winnipeg Jets a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night in the Heritage Classic outdoor game.

Josh Morrissey also scored and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 29 shots to help Winnipeg win Canada’s first outdoor game in a non-NHL city.

Elias Lindholm scored for Calgary and David Rittich had 43 saves in his first outdoor start.

Little scored off a 2-on-1 with Kyle Connor, tucking the puck under Rittich at the corner of the net.

The NHL’s 28th outdoor game since 2003 took place at the 33,350-seat Mosaic Stadium, which was built in 2017 to be the new home of the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, and was sold out and liberally sprinkled with Flames red, Jets blue and Roughrider green.

Wind gusts between 17 and 27 miles per hour put wind-chill at around 14 degrees at puck drop. Snowflakes began dusting the Stadium a few hours prior to the game and intensified after the opening faceoff. As snow accumulated between scrapes, puck handling, shooting and passing became laborious.

There were plenty of scoring chances as each team had 26 shots on goal through the first 40 minutes.

With Flames center Sean Monahan serving a tripping penalty, the Jets couldn’t score on a 4-on-3 advantage in overtime.

Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler put the puck off the crossbar with seconds remaining in the penalty.

Morrissey pulled the Jets even with 4:11 left in regulation with a power-play goal. With Flames captain Mark Giordano serving a hooking penalty, Patrick Laine fed the Jets’ defender from behind the net. Morrissey threaded a shot through traffic to the top corner over Rittich’s glove.

It was Winnipeg’s first goal in an outdoor game. The Jets were shut out 3-0 at Winnipeg’s IG Field by Edmonton in 2016.

After a scoreless first period, Lindholm’s power-play goal with 5:13 of the second was his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Johnny Gaudreau, on Hellebuyck’s right, tapped the puck over to Lindholm to shovel it past the Winnipeg goalie.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice challenged the goal believing Matthew Tkachuk raised his stick above his shoulders to knock down the puck and and keep it in the offensive zone. However, Maurice was denied, which resulted in a Jets minor penalty for the failed challenge.

Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry cross-checked Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington into the boards to end the period, which put the Flames on the power play to start the third.

NOTES: Winnipeg finished 1 for 5 on the power play, while Calgary was 0 for 3. … The outdoor game was Calgary’s first of five road games over eight days. … Jets C Mason Appleton was a scratch, having broken a bone in his foot throwing the football with his teammates at Mosaic prior to Friday’s skate. … Flames D Travis Hamonic played his 600th NHL game.

UP NEXT

Flames: At Carolina on Tuesday night.

Jets: At Anaheim on Tuesday night.