VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Nikolaj Ehlers supplied the spark the Winnipeg Jets needed.

Ehlers scored twice in the third period, and assisted on the game-tying goal in the second, as the Jets defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 Thursday night.

The Jets, who lost 4-1 to the Canucks in Vancouver Tuesday night, trailed 1-0 after playing without a lot emotion for the first 20 minutes.

"I think we can all agree that the first period was not good," said Ehlers. "We started the way we played (Tuesday) and we knew that we couldn't play that way.

"We came out with a lot of energy in the second and in the third."

Rookie Patrik Laine and Bryan Little also scored for the Jets (16-17-3), who won just their sixth road game of the year.

Markus Granlund scored for the Canucks (14-17-3), who have not won back-to-back games in regulation this season.

Ehlers' first goal came off a great individual effort and gave the Jets a 2-1 lead just 1:23 into the third period.

He knocked a pass from Vancouver's Henrik Sedin out of the air, then skated into the Canucks' zone. Ehlers faked a pass to Laine, then beat Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller low on the glove side.

He made it 3-1 on a power play at 12:24 after the Canucks were called for too many men on the ice.

After taking a pass from Nic Petan, Ehlers skated out from behind the Canucks net and lifted the puck over Miller's shoulder for his ninth of the season.

"It's always nice scoring goals," said Ehlers, who was selected ninth overall in the 2014 draft. "In a game like this, where we're not playing the way we want to in the first period, and we come back in the second ... it feels good."

Laine, the rookie who scored his 19th of the season, has received plenty of attention this season. Coach Paul Maurice said Ehlers has also been a major contributor to the Jets' success.

"On chance generation, Nikky has probably led our hockey team," said Maurice. "He has been in alone so many times and he hasn't generated points.

"He just hasn't put the puck past the (goaltender), so a confident Nik Ehlers can go a long ways to that."

Laine, 18, said he's impressed by the skills shown by the 20-year-old Ehlers.

"He's an amazing kid," said Laine. "I haven't seen a guy who can skate like that.

"He has really good hands, and like everybody saw, he can also score. It's nice to be on the same line as him."

Goaltender Michael Hutchinson said the Jets started sluggish.

"The first period, we were trying to find our legs it seems," said Hutchinson, who made 22 saves. "After that, the second and third period, we really took it to them.

"We found that extra gear. It was nice to watch."

Grunland's goal, off a Jets' turnover, gave the Canucks a 1-0 lead at 3:54 of the first period. It was just the ninth time this season the Canucks opened the scoring and only their 14th first-period goal.

Alex Burrows said Vancouver made too many mistakes.

"We started getting a little too cute through the neutral zone," he said. "We turned pucks over, we didn't get it deep, we didn't go on the forecheck.

"We beat ourselves."

Canucks right winger Jannik Hansen left the game in the second period with a knee injury. That followed Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault taking a kneeing penalty for hitting Hansen on the knee.

Sedin, the Canucks' captain, was frustrated by the hit.

"It was a dirty hit for sure," said Sedin. "It's something we can't have in this league."

The Jets played a more physical game Thursday than they did Tuesday, which created several Canucks turnovers.

Sedin believed Winnipeg started taking control when Laine made it 1-1 with just 43 seconds remaining in the second period.

"They started to get going the latter part of the second period," he said. "That's where the game turned a little bit.

"We kept them in check for almost five periods, then they got that goal late and it was a big momentum change."

NOTES: Vancouver C Henrik Sedin became the fourth Swede to play in 1,200 NHL games, joining Nicklas Lidstrom, Mats Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson. ... The Canucks recalled RW Anton Rodin, who hasn't played this season due to a knee problem, from a conditioning stint with the AHL Utica Comets. ... Vancouver's healthy scratches were C Brendan Gaunce, for a fifth straight game, and D Andrey Pedan. ... The Canucks play in Calgary on Friday, their final game before Christmas. ... Jets RW Joel Armia, out 24 games due to a lower-body injury, and C Shawn Matthias, who missed 25 games with a lower-body injury, both returned to the lineup. ... Winnipeg LW Brandon Tanev skated Thursday but missed the game after sustaining an undisclosed injury in Tuesday's loss. ... Healthy scratches were D Mark Stuart, C Alexander Burmistrov, RW Chris Thorburn and C Andrew Copp. ... Winnipeg's next game is Tuesday in Chicago.