Maple Leafs upend Jets 3-2

"I know it's eventually going to go in there," said Kessel, who had 37 goals last season. "I've had some chances. Bozie (Tyler Bozak) made a good drop pass and I went to the net and was fortunate to get it in."

Bozak also scored short-handed and Matt Frattin added a goal for the Leafs, who won their second straight of a three-game road trip.

Zach Redmond and Andrew Ladd scored for the Jets, who have lost four of their past five games.

The Jets outplayed the Maple Leafs for two periods and were ahead 2-1 in the third when the momentum shifted.

"I wouldn't say (the game) would be one that we were going to frame," said Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, who finished his playing career with the original Winnipeg Jets in the early 1990s.

It was a homecoming for the popular longtime resident of Winnipeg as a player and then coach of the AHL's Manitoba Moose. He received a standing ovation from fans when he was introduced.

"I thought we really didn't play well for the first two periods and I thought we were much better in the third, specifically the last 10 minutes of it, and we were fortunate to eke out a win," he said.

"We've got to feel fortunate that our power play finally came through and our top goal scorer finally hit the back of the net."

For the Jets, it was one more frustrating night after a promising start.

"There's a lot of good things we did but, at the end of the day, when we've got a 2-1 lead going into the third, you've got to be smarter and you've got to close out those games," said center Bryan Little.