Bruins vs. Jets: JJ Peterka Wins It in OT After Elias Lindholm's Late Equalizer Rescues Boston

Jeremy Swayman was on the bench, Winnipeg was barely two minutes from an opening-night win, and David Pastrnak had the puck outside the right circle. He fired, Elias Lindholm got a piece of it in front, and with 1:38 left in regulation the Boston Bruins had rescued a point that looked long gone.

They took the second one, too. JJ Peterka took a perfectly weighted pass from Pastrnak, raced in alone 3:21 into overtime and slid it through Stuart Skinner's five-hole, and the Bruins beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-3 on Friday night at Canada Life Centre. Boston is 2-0-0, and the Jets' season opener ended in heartbreak.

Six Goals in Four Swings of Momentum

The first period was a seesaw. Dylan DeMelo opened the scoring at 4:52 with a one-timer from the point that flew through a screen and in high on Swayman's stick side. Boston struck back twice. Hampus Lindholm went first at 9:23, hammering a blue-line one-timer of his own that slipped beneath Skinner's glove, and at 15:20 James Hagens scored his first NHL goal, finishing a cross-crease tap from Nikita Zadorov after Mark Kastelic drove the net. Kastelic had already dropped the gloves with Tyrel Bauer, who was playing in his NHL debut, earlier in the period.

The second period belonged to Winnipeg. Elias Lindholm went off for tripping at 1:34, and 16 seconds later Kyle Connor pounced on a loose puck in a net-front scramble and beat Swayman through the five-hole. Then, with eight seconds left in the period, Mario Ferraro ripped a wrist shot from the top of the left circle to give the Jets a 3-2 lead. Adam Lowry had the primary assist on that one, his second helper of the night.

The Jets protected that lead for more than 18 minutes of the third and even drew a Jonathan Aspirot high-sticking minor along the way, though they could not cash in on that power play.

The Turning Point: A Set Play That Actually Worked

With Swayman pulled, Boston ran a designed play off a 6-on-5 setup, and it worked to perfection. Pastrnak shot from outside the right circle and Elias Lindholm tipped it home at 18:22. Bruins coach Marco Sturm was half proud, half amused. "Spotter drew a nice play," he said. "We had to execute it very well. I mean, once in a while it actually works, we forget about the other ones." He did not undersell the result, either. "That was a big, big goal," Sturm added.

In overtime, Pastrnak drew a defender toward him before hitting Peterka in stride, and Peterka did not miss. "He kind of got the guy pulled to him, and an unbelievable pass," Peterka said.

Pastrnak Pulls Strings, Peterka Delivers

Pastrnak did not score, but he was the engine of the comeback, setting up both late goals and logging 22:04. Zadorov also finished with two assists, including the secondary helper on the overtime winner.

Peterka, who arrived from Utah in a trade on June 26, now has two goals in two games with Boston after also scoring in Tuesday's 3-0 win over the New York Rangers. His teammates are noticing the speed. "It's almost like he smells blood when he sees half a breakaway. I've never seen someone so fast, and then obviously he knows how to finish it off," Hampus Lindholm said.

Hagens' goal was a moment of its own. According to NHL.com, at 19 years and 333 days old, he became the second teenager in the past eight years to score his first NHL goal as a Bruin, joining Matthew Poitras. "Honestly, you kind of black out for a second there," Hagens said.

Swayman made 30 saves on 33 shots for a .909 save percentage, three days after a 24-save shutout of the Rangers that the AP noted was the 19th of his career. On the other side, Skinner made 26 saves in his Winnipeg debut and called it a goalie duel. "I thought Swayman and I held both teams in, made some good saves at good times," Skinner said. He also earned a shout-out from Sturm. "I thought their goalie was really good today too," Sturm said.

Connor had a goal and an assist for the Jets, and NHL.com noted that he has now scored in nine straight season openers, the longest such run in NHL history. Lowry added two assists and went 11-for-22 on faceoffs. Viggo Bjorck, Winnipeg's No. 8 overall pick in the 2026 draft, made his NHL debut and had two shots and a takeaway in 15:42, per the team.

Stats That Matter

• 1:38: Time left in regulation when Elias Lindholm tied it with the goalie pulled.
• 2: Assists for Pastrnak, both on the final two Boston goals.
• 33-30: Winnipeg's shot advantage. The Jets did plenty right.
• 1-for-3 vs. 0-for-2: Winnipeg won the special-teams battle and still lost.
• 9: Straight season openers with a goal for Connor, an NHL record run per NHL.com.

What It Means

Boston improves to 2-0-0 after opening with a shutout of the Rangers, and this one showed a different gear: the ability to win ugly on the road. The Bruins out-hit Winnipeg 26-17 and won the takeaway battle 8-5, which is how a team that trailed entering the third stays close enough to steal it. The Bruins head to Minnesota on Saturday for the second half of a back-to-back, so the bounce of the schedule is not exactly kind.

Winnipeg is 0-0-1, and coach Scott Arniel kept it in perspective. "Tough way to lose it, but for our first game, there was a lot of good stuff," he said. "We've got 83 to go." The Jets visit Detroit on Sunday, part of what Arniel called five games in eight days. Connor sounded similarly unbothered. "Obviously the result wasn't there, but we can build off that," he said.

Faster Than the Flash

Hampus Lindholm said he had never seen anyone as fast as Peterka, and on this night that did not sound like hyperbole. Two games, two goals, one overtime breakaway. If Boston keeps feeding him Pastrnak passes, the rest of the league is going to need a bigger speed trap.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and team notes as reported by NHL.com.