Red-hot Jets blank slumping Ducks
Nikolaj Ehlers scored his team-leading 12th goal, Kyle Connor recorded his 10th and Connor Hellebuyck needed to make just 24 saves for his second shutout as the surging Winnipeg Jets won their third straight game, a 3-0 victory over the host Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
Neal Pionk also scored, and Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine each added two assists as the Jets improved to 10-2-1 in November. They're also 7-1-0 on the road this month.
Hellebuyck was pulled after allowing five goals on 19 shots during Winnipeg's 7-4 loss at Anaheim on Oct. 29. However, he came up big often on Friday, even while not seeing many shots en route to his 16th career shutout.
Anaheim, 2-6-4 over its last 12 games, was blanked for the first time this season. John Gibson made 17 saves for the Ducks.
Following a scoreless first period, during which the visitors drew a penalty near the end, Winnipeg got on the board first with the man-advantage. Pionk blasted home a laser from the point at 1:08 into the second period for his third goal.
The Jets, however, were not done in the period. Wheeler found Ehlers alone in the slot, and the Danish winger snapped a shot by Gibson to make it 2-0 with 10:47 left in the second.
Winnipeg made it 3-0 just 1:51 into the final period. Mark Scheifele had the puck behind the Anaheim net, then found Connor, who beat Gibson and helped the Jets take complete control of the game.
Wheeler has six points over the last three contests for Winnipeg, which has a chance to sweep a three-game trek through California with a stop in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Winnipeg defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, among the team leaders averaging 20:21 minutes of ice time, exited with an apparent injury midway through the first period.
--Field Level Media
