WINNIPEG – This was about as intense a game as you can get in November.

After cruising to a 5-0 win in their last meeting on Saturday, the Florida Panthers saw their comeback fall short in a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

In terms of expected goals, the two teams were separated by just 0.49, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

“A couple of plays you want to change and then the game is over,” said Matthew Tkachuk on the tightness of the game. “It was a hard fought two games by two good teams, it just would’ve been nice to get this one.”

With the loss, the Panthers, who remain in first place in the Atlantic Division, now sit at 12-6-1, while the Jets, who are sitting in the driver’s seat for the Presidents’ Trophy, improved to 16-3-0.

“Definitely a lot of fight, it just goes to show this game is a game of inches,” said A.J. Greer. “A couple of mistakes cost us big. We’re obviously not happy with the result, but you love to see the fight again and the resiliency in the third period. It just wasn’t good enough though.”

Trading chances midway through the first period, Kyle Connor broke the ice for the Jets with a backhand from in tight that made it 1-0 at 14:13.

Adding to Winnipeg’s early lead, Mark Scheifele buried a wrist shot at 17:40 to make it 2-0.

As the Jets held that lead through the period, the Panthers found themselves down on a two-man disadvantage against the league’s top power play early into the second period.

Stepping up in a big way – thanks in large part to the efforts of Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart — Florida killed off the power play to keep the game close.

On that kill, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all four shots he faced.

“The five-on-three guys did an unreal job of getting the momentum back for us in that second period,” said Tkachuk. “It’s just one of those games.”

Continuing the pressure on a later power play, the Jets broke through again as Scheifele nailed in a one timer at 15:41 for his second of the game to make it 3-0.

Getting the Panthers on the board, Greer lit the lamp for the second time this season, putting the puck in off a Winnipeg defender’s skate at 17:24 to make it 3-1.

Gaining some momentum in the third period, Reinhart brought the Panthers within one at 7:10 after burying a pass from Tkachuk to make it 3-2.

With his 14^th goal, Reinhart increased his point streak to 11 games and joined Pavel Bure as the only two players in franchise history to record multiple point streaks of 11 or more games, per NHL Stats.

Notching the secondary assist on the goal, Barkov pushed his own point streak to nine games.

Delivering a counter blow, Scheifele finished off his hat trick at 9:46 to give the Jets a 4-2 lead.

Trading punches like heavyweight boxers, the Panthers – after pulling Bobrovsky to gain a 6-on-4 advantage on the power play – briefly looked like they might come all the way back when Tkachuk scored to cut the deficit to 4-3 at 16:38.

But in the waning minutes of regulation, Morgan Barron cashed in on Florida’s empty net twice to lock in the 6-3 win for the Jets.

Despite how the final score looked, this game was as tight as can be.

“It was that kind of game,” said head coach Paul Maurice. “It never felt like you were out of it. There was an awful lot of good offense by both teams.”

THEY SAID IT

“It was a lot closer than what the score is, but that’s hockey.” – A.J. Greer on the 6-3 loss to Winnipeg

“I think it just continues to show that if we play our game, we can compete with the best.” – Matthew Tkachuk on playing against the top teams in the NHL

CATS STATS

• Aleksander Barkov went 16-for-18 (88.9%) in the faceoff circle.
• The Panthers surrendered just five shots on goal in the first period.
• Sergei Bobrovsky made four high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com
• Evan Rodrigues and Matthew Tkachuk led the Panthers with five hits each.
• Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling each blocked three shots.
• Sam Reinhart has scored nine goals during his 11-game point streak.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Panthers are off to the Windy City.

Closing their two-game road trip, the Panthers will take on the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

For tune-in information, click HERE.