Kyle Connor notches hat trick, but Stars hold off Jets' rally

Kyle Connor scored a hat trick the day after signing an eight-year, $96 million extension with Winnipeg, but his Jets couldn't rally past the visiting Dallas Stars, falling 5-4 on Thursday night.

The game was the season opener for both teams.

Mikko Rantanen had a goal and two assists for the Stars, and Jason Robertson and Nils Lundkvist each chipped in a goal and an assist. Tyler Seguin and Wyatt Johnston also tallied. Jake Oettinger made 21 stops in the net for Dallas.

Morgan Barron also scored for Winnipeg, while Mark Scheifele had three assists. Dylan DeMelo added two helpers, and Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for the Jets.

The Stars opened the scoring 3:15 into the first period when Hintz's chip shot created a rebound that Rantanen buried.

Winnipeg responded 3:04 later as Connor netted a Scheifele feed to tie it 1-1.

Dallas regained the lead at 15:24 of the first period when Lundkvist's wrist shot from the slot beat a screened Hellebuyck for a 2-1 edge.

No goals came in the second, but Hellebuyck was sharp, stopping a barrage of 17 shots he faced.

Robertson struck on a 5-on-3 power play 1:01 into the third to make it 3-1, and then the floodgates opened for the visitors. Seguin scored 34 seconds later, and Johnston added another 1:48 after that to push it to 5-1.

Barron cut the Jets' deficit to 5-2 with a short-handed breakaway with 9:53 remaining, beating Oettinger on the backhand. Connor followed 76 seconds later with his second of the night -- and Winnipeg's second consecutive shortie -- to make it 5-3.

Connor completed the hat trick with 3:03 left, pulling the Jets within 5-4.

A delay-of-game penalty on Stars defenseman Thomas Harley with 2:56 remaining made things interesting, but the Jets could not complete the rally.

--Field Level Media