The Winnipeg Jets got off to a slow start in the first period on Sunday, being outshot 12-5 by the Ottawa Senators as the period ended 1-1.

An impassioned speech from interim head coach Dave Lowry, however, turned the tide as the Jets bounced back in the second, outshooting the Senators 12-8 and taking a 3-1 lead into the final frame before holding on for a 4-3 win. 

“We got yelled at after the first,” said Jets veteran Paul Stastny, who scored in the second. "It woke everyone up. We’ve been needing that for a while, so it was just good to have.”

Lowry said after the game he had no shortage of critiques for his team after the slow start in a must-win game.

“I didn’t like our first period,” said Lowry. “I didn’t like our puck management, I didn’t like the pace that we were playing at, I didn’t like the (lack of) urgency in our game.

"To their credit, we had an answer in the second period and we did things in the second that we wanted to do at the start of the game.”

Sunday's win kept Winnipeg within seven points of the Dallas Stars for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with nine games remaining in their season. Winnipeg snapped a four-game winless skid with the victory, which Lowry credited to the play of Connor Hellebuyck.

“That’s a goalie win,” said Lowry. “He gave us a chance in the first period. He legitimately was probably the only guy that started on time. He gave us a chance to get going and then he made some huge saves right at the end of the game for us, as well.”

The Jets will be back on the ice Monday night as they face the Montreal Canadiens in the lone game on the NHL schedule.