Winnipeg, MB – Tobias Enstrom picked up the deciding goal in the second period and Ondrej Pavelec stopped 23 shots as Winnipeg nipped Tampa Bay, 3-2, at MTS Centre.
Bryan Little and Dustin Byfuglien also lit the lamp for the Jets, while Blake Wheeler chipped in a pair of assists as the Southeast Division leaders halted a two-game slide.
"Special teams was the factor tonight," Jets captain Andrew Ladd said. "We killed a lot of big penalties."
Steven Stamkos and Cory Conacher scored for the Lightning, who fired head coach Guy Boucher earlier on Sunday.
"Obviously there's some mistakes we made ... you learn from those things and move on," Stamkos said.
Cedrick Desjardins made 21 saves in defeat as the Bolts dropped their third in a row and sixth in their last nine.
Winnipeg entered the second period up by a goal, and ended it ahead by two scores.
Byfuglien made it 2-0 during a power play with 2:35 played in the second on a low drive from the left circle, and though Stamkos one-timer a man-advantage score from the left wing at 6:20, the Jets went up 3-1 at 9:35 on a strike from Enstrom.
During a 4-on-4 situation, Ladd circled near the goal line and found the defenseman alone in front for the easy goal.
Conacher's deflection of an Eric Brewer offering drew Tampa Bay within a goal just after the five-minute mark of the third, but Pavelec remained strong down the stretch to preserve the one-goal decision.
Little opened the scoring for the hosts just shy of the six-minute mark of the opening period, lifting a shot home from the edge of the right circle.
Game Notes
Winnipeg has won three of the four home meetings with Tampa Bay since the franchise relocated from Atlanta ... The Jets have beaten the Bolts in two of three matchups this season ... Boucher departs the Lightning organization with a 97-78-20 record in less than three seasons at the helm for the Bolts, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011.
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