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.
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