Kris Versteeg scored just six minutes into the first when Kris Versteeg netted his seasons 18th goal, leading the Panthers. Marcel Goc collected an assist on the play.
Just 40 seconds later, the Panthers went on the power play when Nik Antropov elbowed Jack Skille. After initially clearing the puck out, the Jets gave the Panthers a good chance to score, but instead Sean Bergenheim was assessed a roughing penalty against Mark Stuart to even the teams at four apiece.
Before the 4-on-4 ended, Jason Garrison was called for tripping Johnny Oduya. The teams skated five-on-three for 51 seconds, but Zach Bogosian pulled his one timer a little high, and the Panthers got back to 5-on-4 again without further incident.
Winnipeg enjoyed a third power play in a short time with nine minutes remaining in the period when resident tough guy Krys Barch was called for roughing Patrice Cormier. On the ensuing power play, the Cats cleared the puck out four times and kept it in the Jets zone for almost half of the power play. Both teams collected exactly one shot over the two minutes.
Kris versteeg, Krys Barch and Mike Santorelli managed to tuck the goal into Winnipeg’s net with less than 20 seconds to go in the period. After a review, Santorelli was awarded his sixth goal of the season.
Hits: Jets, 13-4
Blocked Shots: Panthers, 6-3
Faceoffs: Jets, 16-7
Shots on Goal: Jets, 15-10
Score: Panthers 2, Jets 0