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Vancouver Canucks lose to Winnipeg Jets 5-4 in wild matinee affair

Winnipeg Jets' Michael Frolik celebrates his goal against Vancouver Canucks' goaltender Eddie Lack during first period NHL action in Winnipeg on Saturday, April 4, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

WINNIPEG – Lee Stempniak scored twice and Mathieu Perreault had three assists as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Saturday.

Jim Slater, Michael Frolik and Mark Scheifele also scored for Winnipeg (40-28-12), which ended a four-game homestand going 2-2.

Alexandre Burrows had a pair of goals for Vancouver (45-29-5), while Daniel Sedin added a goal and two assists and Henrik Sedin contributed a goal and an assist.

WATCH: Burrows’ second goal that brought the Canucks to within one

Ondrej Pavelec made 26 saves for the Jets, while Eddie Lack stopped 31-of-36 shots he faced for the Canucks.

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Winnipeg will have to wait until after Saturday’s NHL action to see if its 92 points is enough for them to regain a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

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The Jets have four regular-season games remaining, starting with a three-game road trip that has them playing Minnesota on Monday.

The Canucks finished up a four-game road trip (2-2). They sitsecond in the Pacific Division and have three home games left, beginning Monday against Los Angeles.

Winnipeg led 3-2 after the first period and 4-3 following the second.

The Jets jumped out to a 2-0 lead by 5:24 of the first when Slater and Frolik scored 50 seconds apart.

Slater earned his fifth goal of the season when he took a pass across the front of the net from Jiri Tlusty and popped the puck over Lack at 4:34.

Frolik’s 18th goal of the season was a close shot that beat Lackat 5:24 with Winnipeg’s eighth shot on goal.

Henrik Sedin’s 18th goal of the season made it 2-1 on the power play at 9:37.

WATCH: Sedin’s goal

Daniel Sedin then tied the game at 17:37 with a clever feed by Radim Vrbata. It looked like Vrbata was going to take the puck behind the net, but he suddenly sent it out front to Sedin for his 17th goal of the season.

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Winnipeg restored its lead 36 seconds later after Stempniak rushed to the side of the net and used a Perreault pass to notch his 13th goal of the season with 1:47 left in the period.

The Jets outshot the Canucks 16-11 in the opening frame.

Winnipeg mounted a 4-2 lead with Scheifele’s goal at 19:04, but Burrows scored eight seconds later on a breakaway to squeeze the lead 4-3.

The Jets were outshooting the Canucks 28-18 after two periods.

Stempniak collected his second goal of the game at 9:36 of the third period after Vancouver turned the puck over in its own end and he picked it up and beat Lack between his legs.

Stempniak was acquired a few days before the trade deadline and has five goals and three assists since joining the Jets.

Burrow’s 18th goal and second of the game made it 5-4 with 2:05 left in the game.

Daniel Sedin’s goal and two assists gives him 13 points in his last 11 games, including three goals and 10 assists.

It was Winnipeg’s first game without suspended all-star defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, who was iced for four games for a cross-check on New York Rangers J.T. Miller.

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