By Canadian Press

Hellebuyck makes 42 saves as Winnipeg Jets blank Vegas Golden Knights 4-0

Mar 22, 2022 | 9:00 PM

WINNIPEG — Connor Hellebuyck made 42 saves to backstop the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-0 shutout of the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

It was the netminder’s fourth shutout of the season and 28th of his career. 

Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and assist for Winnipeg (30-24-10). Pierre-Luc Dubois and Neal Pionk also scored, and Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor each contributed a pair of assists.

The injury-riddled Golden Knights dropped to 34-28-4, and extended their road losing skid to seven games and two shutouts in a row. 

Playing in back-to-back games, goalie Logan Thompson stopped 22 shots for Vegas. He was also in net for the team’s 3-0 loss to Minnesota Monday night. 

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The Jets were starting a four-game homestand and a stretch of six games in 10 days.

Winnipeg now sits two points behind Vegas for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, but the Dallas Stars lingered one point behind the Golden Knights prior to hosting the Edmonton Oilers in a game later Tuesday night.

A recent trend of taking a while to get their first shot on goal reared its head again for Winnipeg in the opening period.

The Jets didn’t fire a puck on Thompson until 15:06, when Ehlers made the netminder work and the crowd gave a rousing Bronx cheer.

Paul Stastny used the Ehlers’ rebound to notch his team’s second shot. Vegas had 11 shots at that point.

The slump in shots included 61 seconds of power-play time for Winnipeg, plus a short span before the Vegas penalty was called when Hellebuyck was pulled for an extra skater.

Vegas forward Paul Cotter was called for hooking at 13:27, followed by Jets captain Wheeler getting dinged for the same infraction at 14:28. 

Hellebuyck’s work at the other end of the ice included staying alert after a few Winnipeg turnovers, including denying Jack Eichel on his scoring chance.

The opening period ended with the visitors ahead on shots 17-4. 

The Jets improved on their slow shooting in the second period, taking only 5:06 to get their first.

They made the second shot count when they went on the power play at 5:38 and Dubois scored his 25th goal of the season on a rebound at 6:16.

Evgeny Svechnikov had a goal erased two minutes later after Vegas successfully challenged that Dubois was offside. 

Svechnikov then went to the penalty box for slashing, but the closest Vegas got was Chandler Stephenson ringing a shot off the post.

Scheifele deflected in an Ehlers’ shot at 15:14 to make it 2-0. 

Shots on goal in the second were 12-11 for the Knights. 

Hellebuyck was his team’s backbone in the third, stopping early prime scoring chances by Dylan Coghlan at even strength and then Stephenson on the power play. 

Pionk notched his third goal of the season with a one-timer at 11:06 and Ehlers contributed his 19th at 13:51. 

Winnipeg won the season series between the clubs 3-0. 

Newly acquired Jets forwards Mason Appleton (Seattle) and Zach Sanford (Ottawa) suited up for the game, playing the wings with Stastny on the third line.

Winnipeg hosts the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Vegas is home to the Nashville Predators the same day.

NOTES: The Jets went 1 for 2 with the man advantage. The Golden Knights failed to score on three power plays. … Ehlers has a goal in five straight games and is on a six-game point run with five goals and three assists. … Connor extended his career-high point streak to eight games, with six goals and 11 assists across the stretch.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2022.

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press