The Montreal Canadiens said there was "no excuse" after allowing the visiting Winnipeg Jets to storm back for a 5-4 overtime victory Tuesday night in what was the latest four-goal comeback in NHL history.
The Canadiens led 4-0 when Tyrel Bauer scored his first NHL goal for Winnipeg with 2:39 left in regulation. The Jets scored four goals in 2 minutes, 8 seconds to tie with 32 seconds remaining in regulation on Kyle Connor's power-play strike, his second goal of the game.
Dylan Samberg then buried a pass from captain Adam Lowry at 3:30 of overtime to snap Winnipeg's nine-game losing streak.
"What a way to end the streak we were on," Connor said.
It was the latest four-goal comeback in NHL history, beginning at 57:21. The Los Angeles Kings previously held the record, having started their comeback at 52:46 on Nov. 10, 2007. It was the fastest the Jets had scored four goals in franchise history, besting their four in 2:16 on Nov. 9, 1984.
"Guys thought the game was over," Montreal winger Cole Caufield said after the game. "We had a four-goal lead. There's no excuse for this. It's terrible."
Montreal defenseman Kaiden Guhle said his team probably got too complacent with a four-goal cushion in the third period.
"It was a tough one to swallow, for sure," he said. "I don't know. ... We didn't seem very connected. Execution wasn't great, myself included. I wasn't good tonight."
"I think we gave up like 80-something shot attempts. But I didn't need data. They were better than we were tonight. They weren't winning, but they had a lot of urgency. They didn't quit." Montreal coach Martin St. Louis
Bauer and Morgan Barron started the rally to break Montreal goalie Jacob Fowler's shutout bid against the Jets, who were coming off a 7-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Jets goalie Stuart Skinner made 18 saves, and Mark Scheifele and Dylan DeMelo had two assists each.
The Bell Centre was roaring and a Canadiens win looked certain, but Connor still had faith.
"Always," the Jets winger said.
He scored twice in 27 seconds to tie the game.
It was a devastating loss for the Canadiens, who were without star center Nick Suzuki for a sixth straight game. Entering Tuesday, Montreal was 448-0-1 when leading by four or more goals entering the third period in franchise history. The Canadiens' only previous loss came on March 12, 1984, at the Minnesota North Stars.
"I think we gave up like 80-something shot attempts. But I didn't need data. They were better than we were tonight," Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. "They weren't winning, but they had a lot of urgency. They didn't quit."
St. Louis said sometimes teams need a stunning result "to get back on track," which is his hope for Montreal.
"If you let this setback dictate what happens next, you've got to be stronger mentally than that. You can't let one incident dictate what's next for you," St. Louis said.
His counterpart, Jets coach Scott Arniel, entered the game amid a swirl of speculation about his future with the team, as he is in the last season of his contract. Winnipeg is off to a 5-8-3 start.
"I really don't care about that. I really don't. I'm so happy that we won tonight. We got that win," Arniel said. "To me, we're still in the hunt."
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.