Vilardi scores early: Hellebuyck earns second straight shutout as Jets win their fourth straight
Written by Philip Paul-MartinThe shutout was his second straight and 40th career shutout.
“I thought the guys played really hard in front of me. They let me see pucks, cleared rebounds, scored. We really committed to our game in our defensive zone. It might not have been pretty but that’s why every game is a team effort," said Hellebuyck.
“We didn’t give up at all. We battled right to the end. Like I said, they were cleaning up, they weren’t giving up any rebounds, they were boxing out, puck was hitting me. We had a perfect combination for a game like that.” “No. 40 feels really good. That’s one of those milestones. One more is just the 300 wins. I’m really looking forward to that this season. Hopefully, I can achieve it, but this one feels really good.” Winnipeg has lost only once this season, a 6-4 setback to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Their record stands at 13-1-0.
Alexandar Georgiev made 27 saves for Colorado, who dropped to 6-8-0.
Gabriel Vilardi opened the scoring just over a minute into the opening stanza when Mark Scheifele took control of the puck along the boards in he neutral zone before moving across the Avalanche line and sliding the disc to Vilardi, who shot the puck past and outstretched Georgiev's glove at 1:06.
The tally was his 6th of the season.
"Yeah, I think on the 2-on-1’s, I'm expecting to get that puck every time from him. I've seen him do it in practice so many times. He always finds the triangles under the stick, whether it's through the legs, whatever it is, he'll wait a guy out and find the seam and that's on 2-on-1’s, that's on power play. That's all over the ice because he's just such a smart player," said Vilardi.
There was no scoring in the second period.
Colorado put on some pressure in the third, outshooting Winnipeg 16-4 and generated some quality scoring chances but were unable to score.
Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar pulled his goaltender with just over three minutes left in regulation.
Colorado enjoyed a two-man advantage for 1:10 as Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey was penalized for holding but were unable to tie the game.
Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar was satisfied with his club's effort on the night. "Listen I don't have any complaints on our game, our effort or competitiveness. I thought it was all fantastic tonight. You know I would say the chances we gave up on the defensive side, they (Jets) earned them. You know we had a couple of turnovers up ice first period especially that led to some dangerous chances against."
But Jets Head Coach Scott Arniel wasn't quite as content with his troop's effort as his counterpart Bednar was.
"I think I'll go three places. We didn't break the puck out real well. We didn't get through the neutral zone. We turned a lot of pucks over through the neutral zone and then we didn't have that extended zone time. We got knocked off pucks. Our puck support in the ozone, where we usually -- and especially in the first, we had close support, we got pucks to the net, we had traffic... It was kind of a 200 foot kind of problem tonight. In the second period, I think they had five rush chances where we got outnumbered. Our F3 dove in, our fourth and fifth guys got beat up the ice by maybe their D, so a little bit of everything kind of happened there." SHOTS-COLORADO 34 WINNIPEG 28
ATTENDANCE-12,918
Gabriel Vilardi had the other Jet goal.
Adam Lowry had a pair of assists.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 21 shots he faced to earn his 2nd shutout of the season (12-1-0). Karel Vejmelka turned aside 25 shots for Utah, who dropped to 5-5-3.
There was no scoring in the first period.
The Jets took a 1-0 lead late in the second period on the power play when Gabriel Vilardi tipped a Josh Morrissey blast from the point past Vejmelka at 17:57.
The goal was his 5th of the season.
Nino Niederreiter gave the Jets some breathing room 7:30 into the third period when he converted a Mason Appleton feed to make it 2-0 Winnipeg.
Adam Lowry moved across the Utah blue line and hit a streaking Mason Appleton along the right side boards before the Jet right winger spotted a trailing Niederreiter in the high slot and sent him in alone on Vejmelka and beat him with a low wrister.
Utah Head Coach André Tourigny pulled his goaltender with just over three minutes left in regulation.
Niederreiter scored nto an empty net to seal the win for the Jets.
The goal was his 7th of the season.
Both clubs see action Thursday as Utah visits St. Louis while Winnipeg hosts Colorado.
SHOTS-UTAH 21 WINNIPEG 28
ATTENDANCE-12,932
Jets down Lightning 7-4 to win their third straight
Written by Philip Paul-MartinThe win was their third in a row.
Samberg snuck a puck through traffic from the point, beating a screened Jonas Johansson to give the Jets the lead.
Seven different Winnipeg players scored in the game.
Mark Scheifele and Vladislav Namestnikov each had a goal and an assist for the Jets.<[p> Logan Stanley, Alex Iafallo and Cole Perfetti also scored for Winnipeg.
Josh Morrissey had a pair of assists for the Jets.
Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves for Winnipeg, who moved to 11-1-0 on the season.
Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, Mitchell Chaffee and Nikita Kucherov scored for the Lightning.
Jonas Johansson turned aside 27 shots for Tampa Bay, who dropped to 7-5-0.
Brandon Hagel gave the Lightning the lead 6:49 into the opening period when he scooped up a loose puck in front of the Winnipeg net after Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo gloved the disc out of the goal crease during a goalmouth scramble.
Hagel fired it past Hellebuyck to score his 7th of the season.
Winnipeg challenged the goal, citing interference but it was allowed to stand following a video review.
Tampa Bay took advantage of the ensuing power play scoring 1:13 later when Brayden Point one-timed a Nikita Kucherov feed past the Jet netminder, beating him blocker side to make it 2-0.
The goal was his 8th of the season.
Vladislav Namestnikov cut the Tampa lead in half at 12:23 when Josh Morrissey found him cutting for the net and hit him with a crisp pass that he calmly slid past Johansson to make it 2-1.
The goal was his 3rd of the season.
Logan Stanley tied it up 5:49 into the second when Nikolaj Ehlers found him in the high slot.
Stanley stepped into it, firing a high wrister past Johansson to make it 2-2.
Mark Scheifele gave the Jets the lead at 7:36 following a turnover at the Tampa Bay blue line.
The Jet centre worked a textbook 2-on-1 with linemate Gabriel Vilardi before firing the return pass into a largely open net to make it 3-2 Jets.
The goal was his 7th of the season.
Mitchell Chaffee tied it at 3 at the 8:39 mark when Jake Guentzel took control of the puck in the neutral zone before moving across the Jets blue line and hitting Chaffee with a cross slot pass as he drove the net.
Chaffee beat Hellebuyck with a wrister just inside the left post.
Alex Iafallo gave the Jets the lead just over four minutes into the third when Nino Niederreiter found him alone in front of the Tampa Bay net and slid him the puck from behind the goal.
Iafallo beat Johansson with a low shot to make it 4-3.
Nikita Kucherov knocked a puck off of Vladislav Namestnikov's stick past Hellebuyck to make it 4-4 at 6:51.
Namestinikov, who had the puck, elected to cut right in front of his own net and Kucherov simply knocked the puck off his stick and past Hellebuyck.
Dylan Samberg scored at 7:48, sneaking a shot from the point through traffic past a screened Johansson to make it 5-4.
Nikolaj Ehlers potted an empty netter with 2:45 remaining in regulation to seal the win for the Jets.
Cole Perfetti scored into an empty net with 36 seconds left to make it 7-4.
SHOTS-TAMPA BAY 30 WINNIPEG 34
Maple Leafs down Jets 6-4 to snap a three-game skid
Written by Philip Paul-MartinThe win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Maple Leafs.
William Nylander had a goal and an assist for Toronto.
Matthew Knies and Morgan Reilly also scored for the Maple Leafs.
Max Pacioretty had three assists for Toronto.
Anthony Stolarz turned aside 19 shots for Maple Leafs, who moved to 5-4-1.
Kyle Connor scored three goals for Winnipeg.
Mark Scheifele scored the other Jet goal.
Josh Morrissey had three assists.
Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves for Winnipeg, who lost their first game of the NHL season to drop to 8-1-0.
Tavares opened the scoring just under the twelve minute mark when he shoveled a Max Pacioretty cross crease feed past Hellebuyck to score his third of the season.
William Nylander gave the Leafs a two-goal cushion at 17:47 after he snapped a shot past Hellebuyck following a Neal Pionk turnover along the end boards.
Pacioretty got to the loose puck at the bottom of the faceoff circle and slid the disc to Nylander, who made no mistake, snapping the disc past Hellebuyck high blocker side.
Matthew Knies made it 3-0 56 seconds into the second stanza after he scored on a rebound off an Auston Matthews shot.
Morgan Rielly scored at 3:25 with a hard wrister, beating Hellebuyck just inside the right post.
The goal was his 4th of the season.
Kyle Connor got Winnipeg on the board with a power play marker at 6:19 of the second after converting a Mark Scheifele cross ice feed, beating Stolarz high glove side.
Connor fired his second power play marker of the night at 11:25 when he snapped a Josh Morrissey feed past a screened Stolarz to cut the Toronto lead to 4-2.
Jets Head Coach Scott Arniel had a blunt assessment of his club's effort on the night.
"It was throughout. Whether it was our ready to go, ready to compete, ready to get into it, I don't have an answer for you. Toronto was a heck of a lot better than we were. They wanted it. They came in here and gave us a punch right in the nose in the first two periods. It was a little late when we responded, but it's not good enough. We didn't come out the way we wanted to come out."
"It just felt like everybody was off. Everybody was, like you said there was momentum building. Then all of a sudden there was a mistake or a turnover or bad coverage, whatever, and all of a sudden Toronto's getting great chances. The first two periods, that was a lot of what we did. It was just, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot," said Arniel.
Tavares counted his second of the night at 17:33 of the second period when he popped a backhand shot past Hellebuyck to make it 5-2 Toronto.
The goal was his 4th of the season.
Mark Scheifele scored 7:46 into the third, one timing a Kyle Connor feed just under the cross bar to make it 5-3.
Kyle Connor got his third of the game at 16:13, ripping a shot past Stolarz through a screen to make it 5-4.
The goal was his 9th of the season.
The Jet winger said there was no quit by his team.
“Well, we got it down to one, and we were pressuring there. There’s no quit in this room. We wanted to come out and push and show some good work ethic there in the third and see what happens," he said.
John Tavares added an empty netter to seal the win for the Maple Leafs at 19:35 of the third.
Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube liked his club came out.
“That’s exactly what we needed, for sure, especially coming into this building. It’s a tough building and a very good team we’re playing tonight. I liked our mindset right away in the game of playing fast and quick and north, good forechecks. We got pucks to the net that we hounded after. We were just on top of things.”
SHOTS-TORONTO 36 WINNIPEG 23
ATTENDANCE-14,325
The win was Winnipeg's fourth straight to start the NHL season.
Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves for Winnipeg, as they moved to 4-0-0.
Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor also scored for the Jets.
Vladislav Namestnikov had three assists for Winnipeg.
Gabriel Valardi chipped in a pair of assists for Winnipeg.
Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist for San Jose.
Luke Kunin and Fabian Zetterlund also scored for the Sharks.
Mikael Granlund had a pair of assists for San Jose.
Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek combined to make 30 saves for San Jose, who have yet to win this season (0-3-2).
Josh Morrissey put Winnipeg on the board just under two minutes into the opening frame when he took a partner pass from Colin Miller before moving in and beating Mackenzie Blackwood with a low glove side wrister.
The goal was his first of the season.
Nikolaj Ehlers made it 2-0 with a power play goal at 9:25 when Gabriel Vilardi found him alone on the right side of the San Jose net. The Jet winger made no mistake, firing a high wrister past Vanecek.
Tyler Toffoli cut the Jets early lead in half with a power play marker when he tipped a Jake Walman slap shot past Hellebuyck at 11:43. The goal was his fourth of the season.
Ehlers scored his second of the period at 13:31 when Cole Perfetti hit him with a cross ice feed before the Jet winger moved in and fired a wrister past Blackwood beating him high blocker side to make it 3-1 Jets.
The goal was his second of the season.
Neal Pionk scored on the power play through a screen at to make it 4-1 Jets at 18:48.
Kyle Connor fired his third of the season 1:48 into the second period to chase Vanecek from the game, beating him high blocker side to make it 5-1 Winnipeg.
Both teams next see action on Sunday as Winnipeg hosts Pittsburgh and San Jose returns home to host Colorado.
SHOTS-SAN JOSE WINNIPEG
ATTENDANCE-13,422
Kyle Connor's OT goal lifts Jets past Wild
Written by Philip Paul-MartinWith Minnesota's Zach Bogosian off for holding, Winnipeg's top trio of Connor, Scheifele and Gabriel Valardi moved the puck around patiently before Scheifele found Connor open and hit him with a cross ice pass which the winger wired past Filip Gustavsson, beating him high glove side to make it 2-1.
The goal was his second of the season.
Mark Scheifele had a goal and an assist for Winnipeg.
Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 26 shots for the Jets, who won their second straight contest in overtime.
The Winnipeg netminder has allowed a pair of goals in the Jets opening three games.
The game also marked the first time Winnipeg has opened the season with three straight wins.
Jake Middleton scored Minnesota's lone goal of the contest.
Filip Gustavsson made 33 saves for the Wild, who dropped their second straight game.
Jake Middleton got Minnesota on the board 4:06 into the opening stanza when he drifted a wrister from the right point through a screened Connor Hellebuyck to put the Wild up 1-0.
The goal was his first of the season.
Mark Scheifele scored with .7 second left in the first when he one timed a faceoff win by Adam Lowry past Gustavsson, beating him low blocker side to make it 1-1.
The goal was his fourth of the season and was his third in the last two games.
There was no scoring in the second period.
There was no scoring in the third period and the game went into overtime.
SHOTS-MINNESOTA 27 WINNIPEG 35
ATTENDANCE-12,916
NOTES-Jets C Mark Scheifele played in his 800th career game Sunday.
The win was their second straight to start the NHL regular season after they gave the Edmonton Oilers a 6-0 drubbing Wednesday night.
Scheifele worked a give-and-go along the faceoff circle with Kyle Connor and chipped the return feed past Soderblom to give the Jets the win.
In fact, Scheifele did all the scoring for a discombobulated Winnipeg squad when he counted the tying goal with 1:04 left in regulation.
Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves for Winnipeg, who moved to 2-0-0 on the season.
Ryan Donato scored the Blackhawks, who lost their second straight game to start the season.
Arvid Soderblom turned aside 33 shots for Chicago. There was no scoring in the first period.
Ryan Donato scored 16:52 into the second when he skated into a puck at the Winnipeg blue line before moving in and wiring a wrister past Hellebuyck, beating him short side.
The goal was his first of the season.
Mark Scheifele tied the contest at 18:56 of the third period when he dove to get to a rebound off a Nikolaj Ehlers shot before sliding a backhand past Soderblom to send the game into overtime.
Chicago travels to Edmonton Saturday while Winnipeg hosts Minnesota on Sunday.
SHOTS-CHICAGO 26 WINNIPEG 35
ATTENDANCE-14,564