Perron's OT goal vs. Jets gives Golden Knights 34th win

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- The Vegas Golden Knights have already made some NHL history. They're far from finished with what they want to accomplish this season.

David Perron scored 3:57 into overtime to lead Vegas past the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Thursday night for the Golden Knights' 34th victory, the most by an NHL expansion team in its debut season. They surpassed the mark set by both Florida and Anaheim in the 1993-94 season.

"It doesn't mean a whole lot right now, to be honest with you," said Gerard Gallant, who has coached his team to a Western Conference-leading 34-12-4 record, one point back of league-best Tampa Bay.

The Jets had the puck rolling in the crease three times in the extra period, but it couldn't get it into the net. Perron then fired a high shot past Connor Hellebuyck to win it.

"We're just trying to battle and get two points again every night and that's what we're trying to do," Gallant said. "But you know, at the end of the season we'll look at it and be happy, I'm sure."

Winnipeg's Kyle Connor had tied it with a high shot to Marc-Andre Fleury's glove side with 2:36 left in the third period. Joel Armia also had a goal and one assist for Winnipeg.

Hellebuyck made 28 saves for the Jets (30-13-9), who were trying to set a franchise record with their eighth straight home win.

Fleury stopped 24 shots for Vegas (34-12-4). It was his 389th win, putting him into a tie for 13th among NHL goaltenders.

"That's (Fleury) for you right there. He loves those kinds of moments," Perron said of the overtime scrambles. "I don't know how the puck stayed out, but he found a way to keep it out."

Reilly Smith had a short-handed goal and Erik Haula scored a controversial goal on the power play for Vegas.

Haula's go-ahead goal came with 1:30 left in the second period. Golden Knights forward James Neal was in front of Winnipeg's net and broke his stick with a swing to Hellebuyck's mask. The puck was under the netminder and Haula reached in his stick from the other side of the crease and knocked it in.

The Bell MTS Place crowd started screaming and Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice challenged for goaltender interference, but a review upheld the goal. The NHL Situation Room released an explanation stating no infraction had occurred.

"What (the official) said is the puck wasn't covered, it was laying in the crease, so the guy was allowed to take a two-hand smack to my face," Hellebuyck said. "I don't understand it. I think it's a terrible call. You would think the video replay is there for that reason."

It had Jets captain Blake Wheeler frustrated, too.

"The explanation was that the puck was behind the goalie, which gives their player the right to break his stick over (Hellebuyck's) head," Wheeler said. "There's been an outcry with the league to get this right. We were told before the game that it was going to be a little bit cleaner, they were going to be looking for goalie interference. It's the first time I've seen a guy break a stick over a goalie's head."

Maurice also questioned the explanation.

"I don't know how there would be an event that would be more egregious with goaltender interference, just beyond the spirit of the rule," Maurice said. "The idea that a guy could clean a goalie out would be goalie interference, but a two-hand to the head wouldn't. What are we going to do with our goalies now? The puck's loose in the crease, so swing away?"

Winnipeg led 1-0 after the first period, thanks to a gaffe by Fleury. The veteran goalie went behind the net to get the puck, but the Jets' Matt Hendricks stole it and passed it out to Armia, who was in front of the empty net to score his 10th of the season.

Winnipeg got its second power play of the game midway through the second, but the visitors' pressuring penalty kill led to Smith's tying goal. Smith stole the puck from Jets captain Blake Wheeler inside Winnipeg's blue line and beat Hellebuyck with a high shot on the breakaway at 12:10.

Haula's goal came during the visitors' first power play of the game. The goal extended Haula's point streak to seven games, with four goals and five assists.

Connor scored his 17th goal with 2:36 on a pass from the boards by Armia.

NOTES: Perron also had an assist for Vegas, giving him a seven-game point streak with four goals and six helpers. ... Vegas outshot the Jets 27-25 going into overtime.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: play their third game of a six-game road trip Friday in Minnesota

Jets: continue their 10-game homestand with the third game Saturday against Colorado.

Hutchinson wins 1st start of season, Jets top Lightning 3-1

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- Michael Hutchinson wasn't about to miss his chance to play in an All-Star Game, albeit in the minor leagues.

Even if that meant arriving in Winnipeg only seven hours before a rare appearance in net for the Jets.

Hutchinson made 23 saves in his first NHL start of the season to help Winnipeg beat the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Both teams let their starting goaltenders - ranked first and second in wins - have a night off after they took part in last weekend's NHL All-Star festivities at Tampa Bay.

Hutchinson was replacing Connor Hellebuyck after his own All-Star appearance - in the AHL showcase Monday at Utica, New York. Hutchinson said he took a 7 a.m. flight through Chicago, slept on the plane and got into Winnipeg just before noon.

"It's my eighth year of pro hockey and I've never played in an All-Star Game before," he said after his 100th NHL game. "They don't happen every year.

"So who knows? I might never get another chance to play in one. So I felt it was a good opportunity where I could make it and do both. I felt I could have success in both games."

Hutchinson was sent to the Manitoba Moose after training camp and acknowledged after his recent recall that he was upset by the move.

"You always have a little bit of a chip on your shoulder with the way the season's been going, but when you're out there you don't think about it at all," he said after the game.

Patrik Laine scored his team-leading 23rd goal for the Jets (30-13-8). Kyle Connor and Bryan Little also scored, and Blake Wheeler had two assists.

It was the first of 10 straight home games for the Jets, who have won seven in a row at Bell MTS Place and are 18-3-1 there this season.

Rookie forward Matthew Peca scored for Tampa Bay (34-13-3), which had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Louis Domingue played his 10th game of the season for the Lightning in place of NHL-leading goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and stopped 34 shots.

The Lightning had a welcome addition to the roster with defenseman Victor Hedman back for his first game since injuring a knee on Jan. 11. He was expected to miss three to six weeks and had sat out five games.

Hedman, who played 25 minutes, said he felt good but expected better. His teammates were happy to see him back.

"He's a guy you can't replace," forward Tyler Johnson said. "We thought it was going to be a lot worse, and then you see him come back at three weeks. He's a guy that works extremely hard. He rehabs hard."

The Jets were starting a stretch without defenseman Jacob Trouba, who's out six to eight weeks with an ankle injury.

Playing his fourth NHL game this season, Peca took a slick pass from Brayden Point and put a shot past Hutchinson with 29 seconds left in the first period. Peca had been invited to the AHL All-Star Game, but decided not to go. He was called up from Syracuse on Jan. 21 for the first time this season after playing 10 games with the Lightning last year.

Winnipeg got a two-man advantage early in the second after Lightning defenseman Braydon Coburn went off for tripping at 2:43 and teammate Chris Kunitz followed with a delay of game 12 seconds later.

Wheeler sent a cross-ice pass to Laine in the middle of the faceoff circle 35 seconds later and he ripped a high shot past Domingue at 3:30 to tie it 1-all. It was his 12th power-play goal of the season.

Eight seconds after another Winnipeg power play was over, Connor scored his 16th when he jammed the puck in during a scramble in front at 8:35.

Little's goal off a rebound with 5:25 left in the third had the crowd roaring. Tampa Bay soon went on a power play, but Alex Killorn rang a shot off the post.

Jets coach Paul Maurice wasn't making any predictions about Hutchinson's role down the road, saying his team's depth in the crease is key.

"The backup role is very unforgiving, so you need to go in and have success," he said. "(Hutchinson) was here when we got real young for a couple years and it was tough standing in between the pipes certain nights and his numbers reflected that. Now, he got to play behind a pretty good team tonight, as well, and against a good team and he played well."

NOTES: The Jets were 1 for 4 on the power play and the Lightning 0 for 4.

UP NEXT

Lightning: At the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Jets: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

Henrique, Ducks beat Jets 4-3 in shootout

By JOSH COOPER
Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Adam Henrique has fit right in with the Anaheim Ducks, finding his scoring touch while helping his new team to wins.

Henrique scored a goal, added an assist and got the shootout winner as the Ducks ended the Winnipeg Jets' three-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory Thursday night.

"I feel good," Henrique said. "Really, ever since I've been here I've felt great about my game."

Henrique has nine goals and 15 points in 25 games since being traded to Anaheim from New Jersey on Nov. 30.

"I feel like I've created opportunities, confident with the puck all over the ice," he said. "And things keep seeming to come as of late, too, so I think I've been able to build some chemistry with some guys now, playing with a couple of guys for a few games in a row, which certainly helps and especially with our lineup, too. The versatility of moving guys up and down and shifting guys around is big for us."

Ryan Miller picked up the win without recording a save, but stopped all five Jets shooters in the breakaway contest. Miller entered the game with 6:40 left in regulation after Blake Wheeler lost and edge and hit into starter John Gibson, who suffered what coach Randy Carlyle called a "lower-body" injury.

"This is the time of year you have to put your runs together. This is what's going to do it in the end. Two points is big," said Miller, who became the fifth goaltender in the last 40 years to pick up a win without recording a save. "I thought the guys played a nice game. This is a tough team to control and I thought for the most part we kept it under control. There were a few mistakes, obviously, but they're a really dangerous team and I thought we skated well."

The win also capped off a 4-1 homestand for the Ducks. Meanwhile, the loss for Winnipeg broke a three-game winning streak. Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves on 39 shots on goal and rookie Jack Roslovic scored his first career goal.

"Any time you play these guys, it's physical, especially in this building," Wheeler said. "I think they were trying to limit our time and space. It's a team that has a lot of big bodies and a lot of experience playing big games and playoff games."

Roslovic's goal came when he fired a shot off a broken play around the Ducks' net at the 6:19 mark of the third. This came quickly after Ryan Kesler's goal at the 5:48 mark of the third put the Ducks ahead 3-2. Kesler fired a shot from a side angle to Hellebuyck that beat the netminder.

At the 2:25 mark of the second period, Winnipeg tied it at 2 when Nick Ritchie turned the puck over at his own blue line, which led to Jacob Trouba and Tanev breaking in uncontested on Gibson. Trouba then fed the puck to Tanev, who buried the shot past Gibson.

Anaheim took a 2-1 lead 1:24 into the second period when Henrique's shot deflected off Ritchie and past Hellebuyck. Henrique also scored at the 6:48 mark of the first period when he picked up a Jets turnover in the opposing zone and fired a shot past Hellebuyck.

NOTES: Carlyle said "you're always concerned with injuries" in regards to Gibson's issue, but did not give an update on the severity of the injury beyond its general location as a lower-body problem. ... The Ducks gave away hats with beards attached in honor of forward Patrick Eaves, who has played in just two games this season because of Guillain-Barr� syndrome. Eaves dropped the ceremonial first puck before the game. ... Patrik Laine's scored his second goal in his last three games.

UP NEXT

Ducks: begin a five-game road trip after the All-Star break, starting in Boston on Jan. 30.

Jets: open a 10-game homestand on Jan. 30 against Tampa Bay.

Dumba scores twice, Wild beat Jets 4-1

By TYLER MASON
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Central Division has been the NHL's tightest this season, with not much separation from top to bottom.

Minnesota's win over division-leading Winnipeg on Saturday night only jammed it up some more.

Matt Dumba had two goals, Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund also scored and the Wild beat the Jets 4-1.

Dumba got his goals in the third period, helping Minnesota win its second straight behind 32 saves from Devan Dubnyk.

Minnesota got its first win against Winnipeg in four tries this season. The Wild are 5-0-1 in their last six home games.

Minnesota gets a quick turnaround for a game Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks.

"I think we're still hungry. This is a big one," Dumba said. "We're going to treat it like a huge game tomorrow going into our break."

The loss is the second in two nights for the Jets after a 2-1 defeat to Chicago. Mathieu Perreault had Winnipeg's goal Saturday, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 37 shots.

As it did against the Blackhawks, Winnipeg got off to a slow start versus Minnesota. The Jets were outshot 23-5 in the first period.

"In a game like that, we need to make simpler plays, sort of keep it as simple as possible and try to just get into that grinding game as soon as we can," defenseman Josh Morrissey said. "I think it took us too long to do that today."

Granlund opened the scoring with a redirect in front. The forward deflected a shot from defenseman Ryan Suter at the 8:47 mark of the first period. It was Granlund's 13th goal of the season and his 10th point in his last eight games. The goal came on the power play after Morrissey was whistled for interference.

Zucker put his team up 2-0 early in the second. Not long after getting denied by Hellebuyck on a breakaway, Zucker buried a rebound from off the end boards. Zucker's 16th goal was his first since Dec. 27 - a span of seven games. Granlund picked up an assist on Zucker's goal.

The Jets took advantage of a power play to get on the board early in the third. Perreault tipped in a pass from Blake Wheeler on the doorstep just 47 seconds into the period. Winnipeg started the third with the man-advantage after a penalty late in the second period.

Winnipeg outshot Minnesota 17-9 in the second period.

Dumba's slap shot from the faceoff circle sneaked between Hellebuyck and the post for a 3-1 lead in the third. Another shot from the point made it 4-1 later in the third for Dumba's second two-goal game of the season.

The Wild continued their dominance at home. Minnesota is now 12-1-2 in its last 15 games and 15-4-3 overall at Xcel Energy Center.

After Sunday's game, Minnesota will be off for five days before returning to action next Saturday against Tampa Bay.

"We knew it was going to be a big week for us," Granlund said. "We're going to be on a bye week next week, so we gotta gather as many points as we can."

Winnipeg, meanwhile, has a week off. With several injuries, the break comes at a good time for the Jets.

"We've got some key pieces in terms of our structure and how we run our bench that we've missed," coach Paul Maurice said. "We've done actually a great job of surviving and getting wins without them but we'll hopefully get a few of those guys back."

NOTES: The Wild will open select gates early before Sunday's game to allow fans to watch the Minnesota Vikings playoff game against the New Orleans Saints on TVs in the arena. Fans can enter at 3:30 p.m. CT, with the Vikings game beginning at 3:40 p.m.

UP NEXT

Jets: At Calgary on Saturday.

Wild: Host Vancouver on Sunday.

---

More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Connor, Ehlers score 2 goals in Jets' 7-4 win over Sabres

By JONAH BRONSTEIN
Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- High-octane offense continues to fuel the surging Winnipeg Jets.

Kyle Connor had two goals and an assist, Nikolaj Ehlers also scored twice, and the Jets defeated the Buffalo Sabres 7-4 on Tuesday night for their third straight victory.

The Central Division-leading Jets are 6-0-1 in their past seven games and have scored at least four goals in their past 13 victories.

"Everyone's stepped up a little bit," said Jets forward Blake Wheeler, who had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games.

"We've had some injuries and some guys have been given opportunities to play a little bit different role, a little bit bigger role, and done a good job."

Patrik Laine and Dustin Byfuglien also scored for the Jets in the opener of a three-game road trip. Joel Armia added an empty-netter as the Jets tallied seven goals for the fourth time this season. Jacob Trouba and Mathieu Perreault each had two assists.

Winnipeg's backup goaltender Steve Mason made 30 saves to earn a win for the first time in his past four starts.

"It was nice to have the goal support," Mason said. "That made it a little easier for me to settle back in a rhythm."

Jack Eichel had two goals and an assist and Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and two assists for the Sabres, who were playing at home for first time since Dec. 22.

Buffalo has lost five in a row and twice in five days against the Jets.

Jason Pominville also scored and Robin Lehner stopped 14 shots before getting pulled early in the second period after allowing a third goal.

"I got to be better," Lehner said. "I take responsibility for this."

Laine scored on a power play at 6:43 of the first to record his 100th NHL point, joining Toronto's Auston Matthews as the second player from the 2016 draft to reach the milestone. It was Laine's 19th goal of the season.

The Sabres tied the game when Eichel scored for the first time in five games late in the first period.

Byfuglien responded 49 seconds later for Winnipeg with a slap shot from just inside the blue line for his second of the season.

"You think you get momentum back and they get a goal," Eichel said. "Obviously, shifts after a goal are important."

Ehlers made it 3-1 less than two minutes into the second period, sending Lehner to the bench. Connor lifted one over the shoulder of Sabres backup goaltender Chad Johnson (16 saves) from the slot later in the period and Ehlers scored again midway through a four-minute power play a few minutes later to tie Laine for the team lead with 19 goals.

"They've scored more goals than their ages almost," Jets coach Paul Maurice said.

Laine snapped a seven-game goal drought and Ehlers went eight games without a goal before Tuesday.

"We knew how many goals and how games we had without a goal," Laine said. "Right away when we started to talk about it we both got goals so we should maybe talk about something like that more often."

Winnipeg entered the game with the NHL's second-ranked power play (25 percent) and has converted in six straight games.

Eichel set up O'Reilly for a power-play goal in the closing minutes of the second period.

Connor scored his 15th of the season from the slot in the early stages of the third.

After Pominville played the puck off the backboards for a goal, Eichel scored his 17th of the season to make it a two-goal game with 5:07 remaining.

Buffalo's top defensive prospect Brendan Guhle made his season debut a day after being called up from Rochester, the team's American Hockey League affiliate. Guhle was promoted with defenseman Victor Antipin sidelined by an illness, and Rochester in the midst of a five-day break.

"We want Brendan to continue playing, so it's a scenario where it's probably for a couple of games here and then we'll have our break," Sabres general manager Jason Botterill said.

"He's shown some great strides and he's deserving of this call-up right now. He's done everything that's been asked of him at the American Hockey League level."

Guhle was in the penalty box for hooking when the Jets scored their opening goal.

NOTES: Jets RW Patrik Laine recorded his 100th point in his 117th NHL game, becoming the fourth-fastest Finnish-born player to reach the milestone after Teemu Selanne (68 games), Jari Kurri (100 games) and Christian Ruuttu (114 games). ... Sabres C Jacob Josefson left the game after blocking a shot in the first period and did not return. ... Jets D Tyler Myers played in Buffalo for the first time since being traded to Winnipeg in 2015. Myers, the Sabres' first-round pick in 2008, was injured during the Jets' previous two visits. ... Jets LW Brandon Tanev (lower body) and C Adam Lowry (upper body) both skated Tuesday morning but did not play. ... Winnipeg is 7-0 with a 35-9 goal differential when playing a team for the second time in a week's span this season.

UP NEXT

Jets: Visit Chicago on Friday night.

Sabres: Host Columbus on Thursday night.

Mathieu Perreault scores twice to help Jets beat Sharks 4-1

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- The Winnipeg Jets shoved aside yet another opponent at Bell MTS Place.

Mathieu Perreault scored twice, Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves and Winnipeg beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Sunday to extend its home winning streak to five games.

Matt Hendricks and Marko Dano also scored to help the Central Division-leading Jets improve to 16-3-1 at home and 25-11-7 overall. Their home power-play unit is the most-efficient in the NHL.

"It's great coming to the rink knowing we have a strong game here at home," Perreault said. "Not so sure why it's been that way but we're having a lot of fun right now. We're just really happy with how things are going."

Jets coach Paul Maurice said confidence has been the key to the home success.

"We also know that a big chunk of our home games are still ahead of us," Maurice said. "November, December were tough schedules. We made the most of our home games which was really, really critical. Some of those road trips can be a little taxing for your club, so you got to be good at home."

Logan Couture had a power-play goal for San Jose.

"I thought we were in the game," Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. "They jumped on us in the first five, six minutes. I thought we knew that was going to happen and I thought we got our legs underneath us. I really liked our game. Really, the third goal was killer. Overall, we're OK. "We're not perfect. We're not exactly where we want to be, but it could be worse."

The Jets opened the scoring midway through the first period on Hendricks' breakaway. He beat Martin Jones to the glove side on the backhand for his fourth goal of the season.

Winnipeg made it 2-0 midway through the second when Dano deflected Jacob Trouba's point shot for his second goal of the season.

Couture connected on the power play with 5:13 left in the period for his 16th of season and first since Dec. 9.

Perreault restored Winnipeg's two-goal cushion with a power-play goal late with 58 seconds left in the second. Perreault added an empty-netter, giving him 12 goals.

"We would have liked to get another power-play goal and shut them down on our (penalty kill)," said Couture. "But they scored some timely goals that won the game. The third was tough to come back down two against that team in the third period. They shut it down pretty good."

NOTES: Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler assisted on Perreault's power-play goal to extend his points streak to six games. He has eight points in five games since moving to center after Mark Scheifele was injured. ... Jones made 26 saves.

UP NEXT

Sharks: Host Arizona on Saturday night.

Jets: At Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Erik Johnson scores late in OT, Avalanche beat Jets 3-2

By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer

DENVER (AP) -- Erik Johnson's stumble in overtime nearly led to the winning goal for Winnipeg, but his goaltender bailed him out.

Given another opportunity, Johnson didn't stumble again.

The Avalanche defenseman scored on a breakaway with 9.9 seconds remaining on the clock in OT, Jonathan Bernier stopped 22 shots after taking over for an injured Semyon Varlamov in the second period and Colorado beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon also scored to help the Avalanche win their third straight.

Johnson scored the winner when Rantanen poked the puck ahead to him and he put it past Connor Hellebuyck, one of the stingiest goaltenders in the NHL of late.

"As a defenseman you don't get too many breakaways, so I wanted to make it count," Johnson said.

Hellebuyck and the Jets dropped to 0-6 in overtime this season - 1-7 factoring in shootouts.

"Sick of these overtime losses," Hellebuyck said. "I thought we deserved more."

Both teams had plenty of chances in overtime, with Rantanen robbed by Hellebuyck down low early. But the biggest play was turned in by Bernier after defenseman Dustin Byfuglien took advantage of Johnson's turnover for a breakaway. And while Byfuglien sent the puck through the goaltender's pads, Bernier's skate deflected it wide at the last instant.

"I think (Bernier) got beat more on his than I got beat more on mine," Hellebuyck said. "But that's just how the game goes sometimes. You get bad luck."

Blake Wheeler scored twice for the Jets, including the tying goal with 32.2 seconds remaining in regulation and Hellebuyck on the bench for an extra skater.

"Big-time player, right?" Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "We cut down to three lines, so they ran hard there toward the end of the game. Such a fit man that he can push hard."

Varlamov turned back 21 shots before retreating to the locker room with a lower-body injury. It's concerning for Colorado, given that Varlamov was limited to 24 games last season due to a nagging groin injury that he tried to remedy through hip surgery.

Asked if he had a feel for any sort of prognosis, coach Jared Bednar simply said: "No. I don't. I haven't talked to the trainers. Don't know the specifics of it yet."

Bernier was thrown into a difficult situation as he entered with 5:45 left in the second and the Jets on the power play. He quickly warmed up, though.

"Give a huge credit to him," Johnson said. "He deserves a whole lot of credit for the way he played."

The Avalanche killed off three more penalties to run their streak to 36 straight before Wheeler ended it with a power-play goal 47 seconds into the third period.

Wheeler's tying goal in the waning seconds was set up after a bizarre carom off the boards as Bernier went behind the net to cut off the puck. Bernier had to dive back in front, but it wasn't in time.

All in all, a solid night.

"I felt pretty good," Bernier said. "When you come in it feels like everything's coming kind of fast. But tonight I felt pretty good."

MacKinnon scored his 17th goal of the season in the second period and set up Rantanen's tally 3:47 later to give Colorado a 2-0 lead. The speedy MacKinnon was in the top five in scoring on New Year's Day - significant because the last Avs player to do that was Joe Sakic in 2003-04.

The Avs have been a completely different squad this season and find themselves in the thick of the playoff chase. The team already is 18 points ahead of where it was at this juncture a season ago.

"We're feeling good, feel like we're playing good hockey," MacKinnon said. "We're not good enough to get comfortable - that's for sure."

NOTES: Byfuglien returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. ... Avalanche forward Sven Andrighetto is day to day with a lower-body injury. ... Rantanen had two assists.

UP NEXT

Jets: Return home Friday to face Buffalo.

Avalanche: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

---

Birthday boy McAvoy sends Bruins past Jets in shootout

By GETHIN COOLBAUGH
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) -- Tuukka Rask's wire-to-wire dominance helped to ensure that Charlie McAvoy's 20th birthday had a happy ending.

Rask was nearly impenetrable for over 65 minutes before McAvoy scored the decisive goal in the shootout for Boston as the Bruins beat the Jets 2-1 on Thursday night.

"A cherry on top of a great effort by our team," McAvoy said after he improved to 2-for-2 lifetime in shootouts.

After Winnipeg's Nikolaj Ehlers' first attempt of the sudden-death portion of the shootout clanged off the post, McAvoy took the puck and meandered up the ice before tucking his shot past Connor Hellebuyck.

"I saw some room on the blocker side and I just wanted to shoot it there before he was able to recover," McAvoy said of his winning goal.

Rask made 37 saves and recorded a point for his eighth straight game (7-0-1) as the Bruins beat the Jets for the fourth straight meeting.

It was the first shootout victory for Rask in four tries since Nov. 3, 2016 against Tampa Bay.

"Whenever the (Winnipeg) breakouts happen, then the quality chances I guess happen too and become dangerous, so it happened a few times today, but we battled through and survived," Rask said.

Torey Krug scored his sixth goal of the season for Boston (18-10-5), which won its third straight game and sixth of its last eight.

Patrik Laine scored his team-leading 18th goal for the Jets. Hellebuyck had 32 saves.

"We had some good chances to score before my goal but (Hellebuyck) was good tonight and it was hard to get the puck past him," Laine said.

Winnipeg (20-10-6) had its two-game winning streak snapped. The Jets have only won once in Boston since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg in 2011.

Two goals less than a minute apart midway in the third period accounted for the only action through 65 minutes.

Rask and Hellebuyck matched each other before Krug's wrister from the point beat Hellebuyck glove-side with 11:44 remaining.

Laine answered just 57 seconds later, rifling a wrist shot past an out-of-position Rask off a feed from Ehlers.

"It's a grinder and no fun to play (in) and we did a good job of staying in that (game)," Jets coach Paul Maurice said.

NOTES: Boston C David Krejci (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Thursday before missing his third straight game. ... Bruins LW Brad Marchand, C Riley Nash and C Ryan Spooner didn't participate in the morning skate because of illness and were game-time decisions. Marchand played while Nash and Spooner sat. Rask revealed after the game that he was also sick, but did not consider sitting out. ... Mariner coached his 1,401st NHL game, tying him with Ron Wilson for eighth-most in league history. ... Boston recalled 22-year-old C Colby Cave on an emergency basis before the game. Cave received an interference penalty 1:11 into his NHL debut. ... Bruins D Adam McQuaid (broken right fibula) could return Saturday after missing 27 games. ... Jets captain and RW Blake Wheeler spent his first two-plus NHL seasons with Boston. ... Hellebuyck played in college at nearby UMass-Lowell.

UP NEXT

Jets: At the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Bruins: Host Detroit on Saturday.

Late goals push Jets past Predators

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler was effusive in his praise of the Nashville Predators following the teams' Tuesday night matchup.

"They require you to play a pretty good game," he said. "That's the best team we've played all year."

However, Wheeler's team doesn't have to take a back seat to the Predators, or many others.

Winnipeg scored twice in the last 1:26 to earn a 6-4 victory at sold-out Bridgestone Arena, avenging a November loss which wasn't as close as the 5-3 outcome suggests.

Brandon Tanev's wrister from a sharp angle on the left wing beat goalie Pekka Rinne for the tiebreaking tally.

Wheeler tacked on an empty-netter at 19:58 as the Jets (20-10-5) moved within a point of Nashville (21-8-4) and idle St. Louis (22-11-2) for first place in the stacked Central Division.

Other than the third period's first 10 minutes, when the Predators erased a 4-3 deficit with Yannick Weber's first goal 30 seconds in, Winnipeg drove play. It had a 36-34 edge in shots on goal overall, won a majority of puck battles and handed the Predators just their third regulation loss at home this season.

"It's tough to score goals in this league, especially against a team like that," Wheeler said. "You never feel like you can quite establish yourself. One mistake and it can be five-on-three the other way. You can see why that team was a game or two away from winning the Stanley Cup last year."

However, the Jets picked up the two points, thanks to Tanev's dogged effort on the go-ahead marker. Tanev skated down the left side against defenseman Roman Josi, who forced him wide, but Tanev's wrister eluded Rinne (18-5-3) for just his third goal in 35 games. To that point, the Nashville goalie played a better game than the stats would suggest.

Tanev said he benefited from a little luck on his shot.

"The ice wasn't too good, so I just threw a shot on the net," he said. "I got a bounce and it went through his legs."

Nashville employed a sixth attacker for most of the final 80 seconds, but Wheeler ended the suspense with his ninth goal from his defensive zone as Winnipeg won a shootout between two of the league's highest-scoring teams.

Adam Lowry initiated scoring for the Jets at 8:05 of the first period, getting to the rebound of Tyler Myers' point shot after it trickled behind Rinne. Lowry shoveled it home for his sixth goal.

The Predators responded with two goals in the period's last minute. Calle Jarnkrok tallied his eighth when his wrister from a bad angle struck a skate and got past Connor Hellebuyck at 19:19, followed by a Kevin Fiala snipe 21 seconds later. It was Fiala's ninth goal and marked the fourth straight game that he lit the lamp.

The Jets tied it at 6:54 of the second period after Patrik Laine undressed defenseman Alexei Emelin at the blue line, walked into the right circle and wired a wrister by Rinne for his 17th goal.

Nashville regained the lead at 7:55 on the power play when P.K. Subban bombed a one-timer off the crossbar and over the goal line for his seventh goal. Nikolaj Ehlers erased the edge 30 seconds later with the tying goal, then made it 4-3 Winnipeg with a man-advantage tally at 16:00 for his 17th goal.

Weber, who took the penalty that led to Ehlers' second marker, delivered surprising redemption to even the game. His one-timer from the left circle was his first goal since Dec. 30, 2016, at St. Louis, and seemed to rev up the Predators' level of play.

However, Winnipeg regained traction and then came up with the final flurry to post what some might see as a statement win.

"We turned it on in the third a bit," Weber said. "We showed some character, but I don't think we would have deserved that win."

Both Hellebuyck (18-4-4) and Rinne made 30 saves.

NOTES: Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice will work his 1,400th career NHL game on Thursday night in Boston. ... Nashville C Ryan Johansen entered with 10 goals and 10 assists in 15 career games against the Jets, and he picked up an assist on D P.K. Subban's goal in the second period. ... Winnipeg scratched LW Shawn Matthias, C Marko Dano and D Julian Melchiori. ... Nashville scratched D Anthony Bitetto, RW Miikka Salomaki and LW Cody McLeod.

Predators hope to continue Canadian domination vs. Jets

Stats, LLC

It's hard to do any better than the Nashville Predators did on their road trip through Western Canada last week.

They swept three games against Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary by a combined score of 13-1. Juuse Saros and Pekka Rinne pitched consecutive shutouts in Alberta, while the power play kept clicking along and the penalty kill came up big in victories against the Oilers and Flames.

"We played a lot of good hockey," Nashville's Ryan Johansen said. "We started off right in Vancouver and found ways to win the last couple of games, so a lot of credit to every guy in here. Every guy was contributing throughout this trip, so it was a fun three games for us."

Nashville will try to keep the fun going Tuesday night on its return to Bridgestone Arena, where it plays the Winnipeg Jets in a Central Division showdown.

The Predators (21-7-4) are 6-0-1 in their last seven games and 16-2-2 since Nov. 3, giving them a tie for first place in the division with St. Louis.

Winnipeg (19-10-5) is coming off a split of its home-and-home series over the weekend with St. Louis. After losing 2-0 Saturday night at Scottrade Center as Carter Hutton recorded a franchise record for saves in a shutout with 48, the Jets bounced back Sunday to win 4-0.

The only difference between that game and Saturday night was that Winnipeg scored. It drove play in both games, pumping 46 shots at Jake Allen in the rematch and lighting the lamp twice in the second and third periods.

"We got a lot of offense in those games," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "That's the real takeaway from it. Those guys expect themselves to score. You need to stay in the game, the style of game you play best and they did that."

Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler said Sunday's result validated the belief that this is a playoff team, mainly because it didn't let frustration color its efforts after Hutton's shutout. All but four Jets skaters put a shot on net Sunday, and two who didn't found the scoresheet, meaning their bus consisted of few passengers.

"The teams that have success when they're in the playoffs are teams that do that over and over again," Wheeler said of sticking to a game plan. "You just stick with it. We were able to take control of the game in the second period."

It helped that Connor Hellebuyck (17-4-4, 2.45 goals-against average, .920 save percentage) was on point when faced with shots, turning away 24 of them for his second shutout of the month and season. He'll have to be as strong to turn away a Nashville attack that has scored at least three goals in 18 of the last 20 games.

The Predators have been particularly explosive on home ice, averaging 3.9 goals in 15 home games. Filip Forsberg, who has 15 goals and 17 assists on the season, has scored at least a point in every home game.

Rinne (18-4-3, 2.25 GAA, .930 save percentage) is expected to start after stopping 32 shots Saturday night in Calgary for his third shutout of the season.

Jets return favor with shutout of Blues

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The St. Louis Blues found out that they can surrender more than 40 shots and beat the Winnipeg Jets once, but they cannot do it a second time, particularly in less than 24 hours.

After blanking the Jets 2-0 in Missouri on Saturday despite being outshot 48-30, the Blues were unable to duplicate the feat Sunday on the road at Bell MTS Place as the home team pulled off a much-needed 4-0 win.

The Jets outshot the Blues again -- this time 46-24 -- for a combined 94-54 advantage in the two games.

Adam Lowry scored the winner for the Jets (19-10-5), Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey netted insurance markers, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 24 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season.

Andrew Copp and Jacob Trouba each had two assists.

Jake Allen stopped 42 of 46 shots for the Blues (22-11-2).

It was a case of deja vu for the Jets in the first period, though, as they took a dozen shots and had nothing to show for it. After going 0-for-60 in four periods, they must have been wondering if they ever were going to score again.

Third-liner Adam Lowry answered the question. Left winger Brandon Tanev took out two Blues defenders behind their net early in the second period, enabling Copp to pick up a loose puck to the left of Allen. Copp quickly found Lowry, who scored from the top of the crease for his fifth goal of the season at 4:32.

The Jets relaxed and continued to take it to the visitors, doubling their lead with a power-play goal from Laine -- his team-leading 16th of the season and 10th with the man-advantage -- before the second period was over.

Coach Paul Maurice said his third line had a "major impact" on what the other lines were able to do.

"They went out in a shutdown role, scored the game-winning goal and then let the other lines go to work," he said. "They're important to us, especially at home -- they've been great. They've kept good players off the board and found also, every once in a while, a way to generate offense."

Hellebuyck said the Jets deserved to win the Sunday game, particularly since he thought they were the better team on back-to-back nights. It was just his third game out of his past nine in which he has posted a save percentage above .900. The Jets were 1-3-1 in their past five games prior to Sunday.

"It's very satisfying (win), and I think it's better for the guys in this room because now they know that they did play the right way and they continued to play the right way," he said.

His coach agreed, noting his snipers were frustrated at coming up empty with so many chances on Saturday and early in the game Sunday.

"Those guys expect to score. Losing confidence is far more dangerous," Maurice said. "They're a little frustrated things didn't go their way, (but) they handled it the right way. It's always a very fine line. You need to stay in the game (with) the style of game you play best, and they did that.

"We didn't want to see the results and our last five- to six-game chunk become a story when we're playing OK in this kind of grind. You look around, this is a grind for everyone right now and we're back on the road (Monday). Confidence is everything."

With Jets defensemen Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom out due to injuries, Morrissey, who had a goal and an assist, is being counted on to not only up his game defensively, but to replace some of the lost offense.

"Everybody has got to step up and take on a little bit of those roles," Morrissey said. "You can't replace those guys. For me, I'm just trying to get better every single day and get better to help this team win. Our whole back end has stepped up with those guys out."

It was an emotional game for Blues right winger Chris Thorburn, who played a decade for the Jets/Thrashers franchise before leaving in the offseason. He is the leader in games played with 709 and was recognized on the scoreboard during a stoppage of play in the first period. More than 15,000 people got on their feet to show their appreciation.

"It was emotional, it meant a lot. It was a great moment, one that I won't forget, just like my time here," he said. "A lot of good stuff happened to me here."

A number of his former teammates took turns firing pucks at his ankles during the warm-up.

"I think they were trying to hurt me," he said with a laugh. "They know how much of a threat I am. There were four in a row that caught me good. I just giggled. It was all in good fun."

Thorburn has three assists in 20 games this season.

NOTES: The Jets were 5-0-0 against St. Louis last season. ... Defensemen on the Blues have scored 24 goals this year, tops in the NHL, accounting for nearly 23 percent of the team's total scoring. ... The Jets have the best home power play in the NHL with a 35.8 percent success rate.

Blackhawks jump all over Jets

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Winnipeg Jets came into Thursday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks riding a seven-game winning streak at Bell MTS Place and a goaltender with the best home save percentage in the NHL.

The Blackhawks, apparently, did not read the local sports section.

In a dominant effort that reminded everybody that the Blackhawks have won three Stanley Cups in the past seven years, the visitors scored on their first two shots and three of their first five, and were never threatened the rest of the way in a 5-1 victory.

It was Chicago's fourth consecutive win while the Jets (18-9-5) have lost four of five. It was Winnipeg's first regulation loss in 12 home games.

Corey Crawford stopped 27 shots in the Chicago net while Connor Hellebuyck, who looked nothing like one of the league's top tenders on this night, stopped 25 pucks directed his way. In fairness to him, it was his first regulation loss at home this season, dropping his record to 11-1-1.

The Blackhawks (16-11-5) received goals from Patrick Kane, Michal Kempny, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tommy Wingels and Nick Schmaltz. Nikolaj Ehlers responded for the Jets.

Perhaps the only reason Hellebuyck wasn't pulled was that his back-up, Steve Mason, was only taken off the injured list Monday after suffering a concussion a couple of weeks ago and has yet to see any game action.

Kane, who scored one of the easiest goals of his life in the second period, also added an assist, in what he described as his team's biggest win of the year.

"We were coming up against maybe the hottest team in the league. They're playing great this season, they're a tough team to play in this building, they're very fast and we couldn't have asked for a better start," Kane said.

"We're obviously happy coming off three straight wins at home. We knew this was a real test for us against a good team. I think we were ready to play. You beat a team like this and we kind of prove to ourselves that we're right there."

Kane's coach, Joel Quenneville, agreed. Sort of.

"For 40 minutes, for sure (it was our best stretch of the season). We've been talking about putting a 60-minute game together and (Crawford) was great in the third and kept them from getting too close. We liked the balance of the four-line rotation for the 40 minutes," Quenneville said.

Kane's goal, his 12th of the season, was a thing of beauty thanks to Nick Schmaltz.

After Hellebuyck was unable to corral a rebound on a shot from the point, the center picked up the loose puck, whirled around and found Kane to the left of the Jets goal with a no-look pass. With no defenders within a country mile and Hellebuyck way out of his crease, he calmed deposited the puck in the yawning cage.

"(Kane) is always on that right side of the ice in the zone, so it's kind of an instinct play. I got kind of lucky and found his tape and he made a great shot," Schmaltz said.

Jets captain Blake Wheeler admitted that his team came out "a little flat" to find themselves down 3-0 before the game was 11 minutes old.

"It's an uphill climb but it isn't insurmountable," he said. "We just couldn't find a way to get it back on our terms. We just needed to find a way to pop one in and just change the momentum, change the feel of the game. Any chances we had, they just weren't going in. We just weren't able to respond."

Wheeler wasn't about to read any doom and gloom into one game in a long season, however.

"Aww shoot, we've already (bounced back) probably five times this year," he said. "It's not all roses. These guys (Chicago) are behind us in the standings but they're a good hockey team. I think everyone we play is a good hockey team. It's the best league in the world. When you come out flat, you shouldn't expect anything less than being down 3-0."

And no, the Blackhawks didn't read the Winnipeg papers after Thursday's morning skate.

"We're not really talking about that stuff," Kane said. "We worry about what we have to do in here. Obviously, be respectful of your opponent. We know what they've accomplished so far this year and the way they've been playing. That was all we really needed."

Schmaltz said he had no idea the Jets had won seven straight at home.

"That's pretty cool. They always come out hard here. I thought we matched them from the start and got in on the forecheck and created some turnovers and got some pucks to the net and got a few bounces tonight," he said.

NOTES: The Jets placed D Dustin Byfuglien on the injured list with a lower-body ailment and called up Julian Melchiori from AHL Manitoba to replace him. ... The Jets have the third-best face-off percentage this season at 52.7 percent. ... Chicago C Jonathan Toews grew up in Winnipeg and has an arena named after him. ... Chicago RW Patrick Kane scored his 50th career game-winning goal Tuesday versus Florida. He's fourth in franchise history, trailing Bobby Hull (98), Stan Mikita (84) and Toews (56). ... Blackhawks G Corey Crawford ranks third in the NHL in goals-against average (2.20) and second in save percentage (.933).

Ehlers, Jets get straightened out in win over Canucks

WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Moments after he almost scored on his own team, Winnipeg Jets left winger Nikolaj Ehlers found the correct goal and gave one of the NHL's hottest home teams some welcome insurance.

Ehlers adeptly one-timed a rebound off a Tyler Myers shot 14:09 into the second period for a power-play goal, and the Jets rolled to a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night at Bell MTS Place.

After his goal made it 3-1, Ehlers flopped to the ice, looked up to the rafters and raised his hands in the air to celebrate.

Winnipeg (18-8-5) won its their seventh consecutive home game. The Jets, 11-2-1 at MTS Centre, have not lost in regulation at home since a 5-2 defeat against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 17, a span of 11 games.

Ehlers nearly put himself and the Jets on the blooper reel just seconds earlier.

Working the Vancouver zone with a delayed penalty on the way, Ehlers' pass back to the point eluded his teammates and coasted down the ice precariously close to the Jets' goal, which was vacated with goalie Connor Hellebuyck skating off to get Winnipeg an extra attacker. Luckily for the Jets, Hellebuyck was still in the neighborhood, and he doubled back from his path to the bench to lay a stick down and avert Ehlers' embarrassment.

Less than a minute later, Ehlers went the right away, blasting a put-back past Vancouver goalie Jacob Markstrom to give the Jets some breathing room and the home fans a reason to cheer. Winnipeg was coming off a three-game road trip that resulted in just one standings point.

"Coming home and playing in front of this crowd every night is pretty amazing," Ehlers said. "Seeing it now with three games away with three losses, we needed the extra energy, and the crowd gave us a boost today. We came with the right mindset in the second and third period, and we're pretty happy with that."

Mathieu Perreault scored twice -- including the 100th of his career -- and added an assist for the Jets.

Perreault's first goal, which proved to be the game-winner, came moments after a Winnipeg power play ended 4:55 into the second period. Perreault started the process in which all five Jets skaters touched the puck, and he finished it, too, capping off the crafty bit of teamwork by firing a shot from the slot past Markstrom to put the Jets up 2-1.

"Now we're looking ahead at what's coming," Perreault said. "That road trip wasn't good for us, but we've already forgot about it. Tonight we came out to play a solid game, and we did that. Now we're looking forward to our next game."

The Jets host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, the first of four straight in-division games and a prelude to a critical home-and-home series with the St. Louis Blues on Saturday and Sunday.

Dmitry Kulikov and Josh Morrissey had the other goals for the Jets, who got a 25-save performance from Hellebuyck.

Rookie Brock Boeser, with his team-leading 16th of the season, had the lone goal for Vancouver (14-13-4). Boeser matched Tony Granato's 1988-89 mark for the most goals by a U.S.-born rookie through his first 30 games.

Markstrom (19 saves) accepted the blame for an ugly fifth goal. His ill-conceived clearing attempt with 43.7 seconds left in the game went up the middle of the ice straight to Matt Hendricks, whose shot at a wide-open net hit Perreault's stick on the way in.

"They had three guys up on the forecheck," Markstrom said. "I don't know how, but it was a poor decision by me, and I wasn't good today and I take full responsibility. That wasn't good. You've gotta own it."

NOTES: The Canucks were without two of their top scorers. C Bo Horvat (10-20-28) is out after sustaining a broken foot Dec. 5, and LW Sven Baertschi (8-18-26) is out four to six weeks with a fractured jaw. ... The Jets played without D Dustin Byfuglien, who was pronounced by coach Paul Maurice as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. He was replaced in the lineup by rookie Tucker Poolman. ... Linesman Vaughan Rody, a Winnipeg native, was honored in an on-ice pregame ceremony for officiating in his 1,000th NHL game. ... Jets C Bryan Little appeared in his 700th NHL game. ... Vancouver RW Brock Boeser's goal was his 12th in the past 13 games. He has 14 points in that span.

Panthers lose Barkov but beat Jets

SUNRISE, Fla. -- They had lost their starting goalie, Roberto Luongo, in the previous game.

And for a stretch of about eight minutes in Thursday's second period, the Florida Panthers were also without their top two centers, Aleksander Barkov and Vincent Trocheck.

To make matters worse, they gave the Winnipeg Jets seven power plays, including four straight in the third period. Two of the penalties on the night were 5-on-3.

Yet, despite all that adversity, the Panthers -- led by improbable hero Michael Haley -- rallied to defeat the Jets 6-4 at the BB&T Center.

Trocheck returned after his injury and scored two goals, including an empty-netter with 10.4 seconds left. But Barkov didn't return after taking an elbow to his jaw.

"It sucks that Barkie went down," Trocheck said of Barkov, who could be in the concussion protocol. "He's a leader of this team. He gets us going every night. Him going down was a big hit for us. Guys had to step up."

Haley, a fourth-line left winger, was one of those guys. He scored the tiebreaking goal on a deflection of a Derek MacKenzie shot with 9:58 left in the third period as Florida (11-13-4) snapped a three-game losing streak.

It was just Haley's second goal of the season. He has seven goals in parts of eight NHL seasons.

Florida also got goals from Mark Pysyk, Aaron Ekblad and Denis Malgin. Backup goalie James Reimer (35 saves) earned the win.

The Jets (17-8-4) got one goal and two assists from Patrik Laine as well as scores from Nikolaj Ehlers, Adam Lowry and Blake Wheeler.

But the Jets went just 1-for-7 on their power play, including a hooking call against Mike Matheson with just 4:02 remaining.

"They made some good saves," Wheeler said. "We had a couple (pucks) lay on the goal line. It just wasn't bouncing for us tonight."

In addition, the Jets could not survive shaky goaltending from rookie Eric Comrie, a 22-year-old Canadian from Edmonton who made 30 saves in just his second NHL start. In his other start, he beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 on April 6, 2017.

Jets coach Paul Maurice said Comrie "would want that first goal" that he allowed back. But Maurice thought he played respectably otherwise.

"We were just a little too loose on our coverage," Maurice said.

Florida opened the scoring with two goals within the first four minutes of the game. Pysyk beat Comrie stick-side with just 2:48 expired in the first period. And Ekblad scored off his own rebound just 29 seconds later.

The Jets closed the first period with two goals within three minutes of each other, tying the score 2-2.

On Winnipeg's first goal, Ben Chiarot snapped a shot from the point, and the puck deflected into the net off of teammate Ehlers. Winnipeg tied the score when Brandon Tanev sent a perfect cross-ice pass to Lowry, who beat Reimer with a one-timer.

Wheeler's power-play goal with 4:46 expired in the second period gave Winnipeg its first lead of the night, 3-2. Wheeler scored after a perfect pass from Laine.

Florida ended the second-period scoring on Malgin's goal, which tied the score 3-3. He was set up by Colton Sceviour's centering feed from behind the net.

The teams traded goals within the first two minutes of the third period -- Trocheck for Florida and Laine for Winnipeg to tie the score 4-4.

That set the stage for Haley's heroics and some scary moments for the Panthers at the end as they thwarted repeated Jets opportunities.

"We took too many penalties," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "Losing Barkie, we had to scramble. We lost Trocheck for seven or eight minutes. We were mixing and matching all over the place.

"But I give a lot of credit to the guys. They found a way to win."

NOTES: Panthers G Roberto Luongo (right groin) likely will miss several weeks. The Panthers on Wednesday recalled G Harri Sateri to serve as James Reimer's backup. Sateri was recalled from their AHL affiliate in Springfield, Mass. ... Florida scratched D MacKenzie Weegar and LW Connor Brickley. ... Jets G Steve Mason is out with a concussion sustained on Nov. 25. Mason has struggled this season with a 3.45 GAA and a .904 save percentage. ... Winnipeg scratched C Marko Dano, D Tucker Poolman and C Shawn Matthias. ... This was a homecoming of sorts for ex-Panthers D Dmitry Kulikov, who is now in the Jets' rotation. ... Florida's three-game homestand ends on Saturday against the Colorado Avalanche. ... Winnipeg's three-game trip ends Saturday at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Red Wings rout Jets to snap slide in style

DETROIT -- The Winnipeg Jets could smell what was coming their way, and they didn't particularly care for the odor.

"We knew this was going to be tough, because that's a good team that just took one of the worst losses in franchise history," Jets forward Adam Lowry said Tuesday after Winnipeg's 5-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Rebounding from a dismal 10-1 loss to the Canadiens on Saturday in Montreal, the Red Wings (11-12-5) turned in one of their best performances of the season and completely controlled the Jets, who entered play Monday tied for first overall in the NHL.

"We came out with a purpose tonight right from the drop of the puck," Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard said. "We played hard for a full 60 minutes.

"That is the type of game we need to play every single night, the way we supported each other around the ice, and the way we played as five-man units. When we play like that and we use our speed, we're a tough team to play against."

Gustav Nyquist recorded two goals and an assist, and Howard made 25 saves as the Red Wings ended a seven-game losing streak.

Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm and David Booth also scored for the Red Wings, who had gone 0-4-3 since a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 17.

"I think we just weren't really playing with a lot of passion the last couple games and we wanted to play with a little bit more intensity and show that we belong out there," Helm said.

Patrik Laine scored his 14th goal of the season for the Jets (17-7-4), who are 0-2-1 in their past three road games.

The Red Wings wasted little time in establishing dominance, outshooting the Jets 16-3 in the first period and grabbing a 2-0 advantage.

"That just kind of encourages guys knowing, 'Hey, that's a good team over there and we can outplay them,'" Booth said. "We're a good team, and I think we showed that tonight."

The Red Wings took the lead 10:42 into the first period. Nyquist's shot from the high slot bounced off a couple of legs and landed at the feet of Abdelkader on the edge of the Jets' goal crease, and Abdelkader slammed it home past Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

Seven seconds after failing to score during a two-man advantage of 1:55, the Red Wings went ahead 2-0. Hellebuyck (27 saves) got his right pad on a shot by Tomas Tatar, but Nyquist fired the rebound into the net at 14:43 of the opening period.

The Jets were offered their own five-on-three advantage for 1:33 in the second period and capitalized. Laine set up in the high slot to the left of the Detroit net and wired a one-timer low to the glove side past Howard at 6:25.

"I think that was the key to the game right there," Booth said. "They could have got another quick one, but keeping your composure, and Howie coming up with big saves or big blocks by our guys goes a long way."

Detroit increased its lead to 3-1 at 4:55 of the third period on a controversial goal. Nyquist and Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey crashed into Hellebuyck as Jonathan Ericsson's point shot reached the net, banking in off Nyquist as he and Morrissey toppled into Hellebuyck.

The Jets challenged the goal for goalie interference but lost the appeal.

"I didn't agree with (the call) then and I don't agree with it now," Jets coach Paul Maurice said.

Helm got behind the Jets' defense and snapped a wrist shot past Hellebuyck's glove side on the breakaway to make it 4-1 at 7:25.

Booth increased the margin to 5-1 at 10:40, converting Andreas Athanasiou's feed from the slot.

NOTES: The Jets had no players in their lineup Tuesday who had minus rating this season. The Red Wings suited up one player who was a plus player, D Jonathan Ericsson, now plus-4 after a plus-2 night. ... Detroit's last eight-game winless skid was an 0-7-1 slide from Jan. 12-30, 1991. ... Tuesday's game began a five-game homestand for the Red Wings, while the Jets launched a three-game road trip. ... The Red Wings scratched D Xavier Ouellet. ... Detroit D/RW Luke Witkowski served the ninth contest of his 10-game NHL suspension. ... The Jets' scratches were D Tucker Poolman, C Shawn Matthias and C Marko Dano.

Wheeler, Price and Faksa Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

NEW YORK – Winnipeg Jets right wing Blake Wheeler, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price and Dallas Stars center Radek Faksa have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Dec. 3.

FIRST STAR – BLAKE WHEELER, RW, WINNIPEG JETS

Wheeler led the NHL with 2-8—10, including a trio of three-point performances, in four contests to propel the Jets (17-6-4, 38 points) to a 3-0-1 week and the top of the Western Conference standings. He recorded 1-2—3 in a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild Nov. 27. After being held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche Nov. 29, Wheeler bounced back with three assists in a 7-4 win against the Vegas Golden Knights Dec. 1. He then capped the week with 1-3—4, his League-leading third four-point effort of the season, in a 5-0 triumph over the Ottawa Senators Dec. 3. The 31-year-old Plymouth, Minn., native paces the NHL with 28 assists and ranks fourth in the League with 35 points through 27 games this season.

SECOND STAR – CAREY PRICE, G, MONTREAL CANADIENS

Price went 4-0-0 with a 1.50 goals-against average and .950 save percentage to help the Canadiens (13-12-3, 29 points) post a perfect week and extend their win streak to five games overall. He yielded one goal in each of his first two outings, making 37 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets Nov. 27 and 27 stops in a 2-1 triumph against the Ottawa Senators Nov. 29. Price then earned consecutive wins against the Detroit Red Wings, recording 28 saves in a 6-3 victory Nov. 30 and 22 stops in a 10-1 triumph Dec. 2. The 30-year-old Anahim Lake, B.C., native – who has won all five of his starts since returning from injury Nov. 25 – is 8-7-1 in 16 appearances this season (2.93 GAA, .905 SV%, 1 SO).

THIRD STAR – RADEK FAKSA, C, DALLAS STARS

Faksa registered a League-best five goals (5-2—7) and +7 rating (tied) in four games to power the Stars (16-10-1, 33 points) to a 4-0-0 week. He scored his first career hat trick, with all three goals coming in a 6:46 span of the second period, in a 3-0 triumph over the Vegas Golden Knights Nov. 28. Faksa then posted 1-1—2, his fifth multi-point outing of the season, in 4-3 overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks Nov. 30. He added one goal in a 3-2 shootout win over the Blackhawks Dec. 2 and one assist in a 7‑2 triumph against the Colorado Avalanche Dec. 3. The 23-year-old Vitkov, Czech Republic, native ranks fifth on the Stars with 10-6—16 in 26 contests this season.

Hellebuyck, Wheeler lift Jets over Senators 5-0

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Connor Hellebuyck was relieved to finally shut the door on an opponent.

Hellebuyck made 21 saves for his first shutout of the season, captain Blake Wheeler had a goal and three assists, and the Winnipeg Jets crushed the Ottawa Senators 5-0 on Sunday night.

“It feels like I finally got the monkey off my back,” said Hellebuyck, who has a 15-2-3 record this season.

“This is more of a team shutout. When the guys are playing as good as they are in front of me, it makes my life a lot easier. When one guy is feeling it, you can see it go through the locker-room. That’s what we have in here now.”

The victory boosted Winnipeg’s Western Conference-leading record to 17-6-4. Their 38 points also tied them for first overall in the league with idle Tampa Bay, which has a game in hand.

Wheeler’s linemates Mark Scheifele and Mathieu Perreault also had a goal each.

“Maybe one of the most dominating performances I’ve been part of in this league, to be honest,” Perreault said. “From the first minute, we took over the game. I think at one point the shots (were) 40-something to 15. We were in their end the whole game. ... They had a couple chances and (Hellebuyck) shut the door.”

Patrik Laine and Tyler Myers also scored for the Jets, who boosted their home winning streak to six games. They’re also unbeaten in regulation in their last 10 games at home (9-0-1).

Perreault and Dustin Byfuglien each had a pair of assists. Scheifele added one helper, extending his point streak to four games. Winnipeg’s 49 shots were its highest total of the season.

“It’s about as embarrassing as I’ve ever felt playing in the NHL so definitely one we’ve got to wash away,” Senators forward Mark Stone said. “Lack of confidence, lack of effort. Anything you want to say, it wasn’t there tonight.”

Mike Condon let in five goals on 22 shots and was replaced by Craig Anderson early in the second period. Anderson made 27 saves the rest of the way.

Ottawa halted a seven-game skid with a 6-5 victory Friday night over the New York Islanders. Erik Karlsson’s pointless streak stretched to 10 games.

NOTES: The Jets outshot the Sens 19-3 in the opening period. ... Laine was playing his 100th career game and Myers his 500th. ... The Jets were 3 for 5 on the power play and the Senators were scoreless on three attempts.

UP NEXT

Senators: Continue seven-game trip at Anaheim on Wednesday night.

Jets: Start a three-game road trip at Detroit on Tuesday night.

MacKinnon scores in OT to give Avalanche 3-2 win over Jets

By BRENT W. NEW
Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche had their initial celebration in overtime cut short. Less than a minute later, MacKinnon got the party going again.

The 22-year-old scored a power-play goal 59 seconds into overtime after he had a goal waved off 30 seconds earlier, and the Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 on Wednesday night.

MacKinnon reveled with his teammates when his shot hit a Jets player and went into the net 29 seconds into the extra period. But replay showed that Colorado’s Tyson Barrie was offside.

Thirty seconds later, he hit the back of the net again — and this one counted.

“We kept our composure well,” MacKinnon said. “We didn’t want to panic. Stuff happens.”

Alexander Kerfoot had a goal and an assist and Nikita Zadorov also scored for the Avalanche, who improved to 8-2-1 at home this season. MacKinnon also had an assist and finished November with 20 points — five goals and 15 assists — in 12 games.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 shots in his first game since Nov. 18 because of an illness.

“We know this is one of the best teams in the league at this point,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of Winnipeg. “We needed to rise to the occasion and I thought our guys did that.”

Bryan Little and Josh Morrissey scored for the Jets, and Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves. Winnipeg is 7-2-1 in its last 10 games.

Little put Winnipeg ahead 2-1 at 4:08 of the third. Nikolaj Ehlers beat the Colorado defense during 4-on-4 play and put the initial shot on Varlamov before Little tipped a rebound chance under the goalie’s glove.

Zadorov tied it for the Avalanche with 8:03 remaining, setting up MacKinnon’s winner in OT.

“I think, 2-1, you’d like to be able to close it out,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “It was a hard, grinding game. It just wasn’t a sharp game.”

Winnipeg opened the scoring 8:43 into the first period on Morrissey’s third goal of the season. The defender let loose just in front of the blue line to beat Varlamov for his first goal since Oct. 26.

The Jets came into the game 11-1-2 this season when scoring first.

The Avalanche tied it on Kerfoot’s power-play goal with 6:37 left in the opening period. During a strange sequence, MacKinnon put a shot on Hellebuyck from inside the circle and J.T. Compher tipped the rebound in front to Kerfoot. Kerfoot’s backhander hit the back of the net just as Hellebuyck shook off his mask and helmet after a strap came loose.

Hellebuyck quickly pleaded his case to officials but the goal stood. The rule states play should be stopped immediately if a goalie has lost his mask and/or helmet unless the opposing team has an impending scoring opportunity.

“I have a helmet on my forehead and it was about to fall off,” Hellebuyck said. “I don’t know, it’s a little dangerous to me.”

The Avalanche finished 2 of 5 on the power play, while Winnipeg was 0 for 4.

NOTES: Colorado D Anton Lindholm, who’d been out with a broken jaw since Nov. 4, celebrated his 23rd birthday with a return to the lineup. ... G Steve Mason suffered a concussion Saturday against the San Jose Sharks and was designated for injured reserve. ... The Avalanche assigned D Chris Bigras and D Andrei Mironov to AHL San Antonio and recalled Duncan Siemens, who was a healthy scratch Wednesday. ... LW Gabriel Landeskog began his four-game suspension for his crosscheck against Calgary on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Jets: Host Las Vegas on Friday night.

Avalanche: Host New Jersey on Friday night.

Jets score 7 straight in 7-2 win over Wild

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — The Winnipeg Jets are off to their best start ever thanks to a wild finish Monday night.

Linemates Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each had a goal and two assists, and the Jets scored seven straight goals to beat the Minnesota Wild 7-2.

Joel Armia, Jacob Trouba, Mathieu Perreault and Bryan Little also scored for the Jets. Armia added an assist.

Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves for the Winnipeg, which has won four straight and seven of eight at home.

“Down two early, we never thought we were out of this game,” Perreault said. “And we battled back.”

Jason Zucker and Chris Stewart scored for Minnesota. The Wild left Alex Stalock in the entire game, and he stopped 21 shots.

“From about the 13-minute mark of the first period, we just quit playing,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “It’s easy to say we’re going to watch the video, but it’s a compete level.

“Once the Jets started to play a little bit better it was like ‘woe is me’ and we didn’t compete against them.”

The Jets have won 15 of 24 games this season, the quickest to 15 wins in franchise history.

Minnesota jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but then Winnipeg’s barrage began with two goals in the final six minutes of the opening frame.

Zucker extended his points streak to four games after the Wild took advantage of a turnover just outside Minnesota’s blue line by defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Three Wild players reversed direction, and Zucker’s backhand beat Hellebuyck at 8:01, giving him two goals and two assists during his streak.

Minnesota had a goal by Zack Mitchell overturned by a coach’s challenge after Charlie Coyle was deemed offside. The Wild scored one that stood just over a minute later when Stewart made it 2-0 at 13:54.

A rebound from Josh Morrissey’s shot from the point ended up on Armia’s stick to get Winnipeg on the board at 15:47. Scheifele made it 2-2 on the power play at 17:15 when he took a cross-ice pass from Wheeler, who was playing his 500th game for the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise.

“It goes fast,” Wheeler said of the 500 games. “It’s crazy. It feels like yesterday we were still in the first season here. That being said, we’ve spit out three kids in those 500 games here.”

Wheeler was traded to Atlanta from Boston in February 2011 and played 23 games with the new club. The Thrashers were then bought and moved to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season. He’s played 721 NHL career games.

After coming up empty on a pair of power plays early in the second, Winnipeg took the lead when Scheifele fed a quick pass to a rushing Trouba, who beat Stalock as he was trying to move across the crease at 10:57. Perreault scored with a one-timer at 14:19.

NOTES: The Jets had outshot the visitors 17-11 heading into the third. Connor, Little and Wheeler scored in the final period.

UP NEXT

Wild: Host Vegas on Thursday night.

Jets: Play at Colorado on Wednesday night.

Rinne makes 32 saves as Predators stop Jets' streak, 5-3

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — With a chance to contribute on special teams, Mattias Ekholm is showing just how dangerous he can be for the Nashville Predators.

Kyle Turris, Kevin Fiala and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators past the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 on Monday night.

Ekholm and Nick Bonino also scored, and P.K. Subban, Viktor Arvidsson and Roman Josi added two assists apiece as Nashville won for the seventh time in eight games. Pekka Rinne made 32 saves.

Ekholm has scored in four straight games, extending the best streak of his career and establishing a Nashville record for goals in consecutive games by a defenseman. Three of them have come on the power play, and the other short-handed.

“I think what we’re seeing is he’s got a really good shot from the point right now,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said. “He’s getting some power-play time and he’s really bringing the hammer.”

Mathieu Perreault scored twice and Tyler Myers had a goal and an assist for the Jets, who had won four straight.

Fiala scored the game’s first goal at 3:31 of the opening period.

On a delayed penalty to Winnipeg, Fiala came on as the extra attacker. Subban faked a slap shot from the left point before sending a pass to Fiala in the lower part of the right faceoff circle. From there, he beat goalie Connor Hellebuyck between the pads with a spinning backhand.

Perreault tied it at 6:23 of the first.

With the Jets on a power play, Myers’ slap shot from the center of the blue line hit Perreault standing just outside the crease, and the puck sailed over Rinne’s left shoulder.

Nashville used a three-goal second period to break the game open.

“We got in the box — that’s a problem for us,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. “We had some self-inflicted wounds on the penalty kill, things that we didn’t need to chase or turnovers that we can’t have.”

Johansen made it 2-1 just 26 seconds into the second with a wrist shot from the slot just underneath the crossbar.

After not scoring in the first 17 games of the season, Johansen has a goal in two of his last three. The goal was his 300th NHL point.

“I needed one for sure to get me going, so hopefully that can continue,” he said.

Turris scored a power-play goal at 11:32 of the second with a slap shot from the left faceoff circle set up by a nice pass from Josi.

“They just took over,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “A couple of penalties didn’t help our cause. (We) just didn’t do enough little things and they capitalized on their opportunities.”

Nashville struck again on the power play at 19:02 of the second when Ekholm beat Hellebuyck with a slap shot from the high slot.

“I play on a really good power-play unit,” Ekholm said. “I think the power play has been a huge factor in these wins and it is going to continue to do that. We have two good units and that feels really good.”

Bonino scored at 9:16 of the third and Myers followed 1:23 later. Perreault scored his second of the night at 16:04.

NOTES: Hellebuyck made 24 saves. ... Nashville C Austin Watson served the first of a two-game suspension as a result of a boarding call during Saturday night’s game against Colorado. ... Johansen has 20 points in 15 career games against Winnipeg. ... The Jets fell to 4-1-0 against Central Division opponents. ... Winnipeg RW Patrik Laine’s eight-game point streak ended.

UP NEXT

Jets: At the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.

Predators: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday.