Jets issue latest statement with dominant win over Bruins
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The Winnipeg Jets looked like a grandmaster sitting on one side of the chess board on Friday night.
The Boston Bruins showed up with some pawns meant for a game of checkers.
A 5-1 victory over the Atlantic Division leaders was a masterclass in, well, class as the Jets climbed back atop the Central in stunning, dominant fashion.
And it was all witnessed by the largest crowd of the season, some 14,405 who met in downtown Winnipeg to see their team’s most complete game of the season.
A statement if there ever was one, with the Jets becoming the fifth team to reach 20 wins, improving to 20-9-3 overall, including an 8-1-1 run in their past 10 outings.
Winnipeg, meanwhile, pushed its franchise-record streak of games where they’ve held their opponents to three goals or fewer to 22 games.
Nino Niederreiter became the fifth Jets player to hit 10 goals, scoring twice in the game, both on the power play, and adding a helper for a three-point night.
Gabriel Vilardi continued his torrid scoring pace, scoring his seventh of the season while adding an assist for his fourth multi-point game in his past five to push his goal-scoring and point streaks to six games (six goals, six assists).
Josh Morrissey and Adam Lowry also tallied for Winnipeg, while Mark Scheifele added a pair of assists.
Winnipeg’s top line of Vilardi, Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers posted another five points and now have 30 combined in their past five games.
Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves for his 16th win of the season, tying him for first place among NHL netminders.
The Jets went 2-for-3 against the best penalty kill in the NHL, having come into the game with just one goal in their previous 21 attempts.
Winnipeg’s penalty kill, which has struggled in the bottom third of the league this season, kept its second straight clean sheet, with Boston failing to score on either of their two chances.
The Jets improved to 11-1 when not surrendering a power-play marker.
Winnipeg led 3-0 after the first two periods, with Morrissey scoring his sixth with eight seconds left in the first and Vilardi and Niederreiter notching their seventh and ninth goals, respectively, in the second half of the middle frame.
Scheifele had a chance to make it 3-0 just 30 seconds prior after being awarded a penalty shot when Bruins defenceman Parker Wotherspoon closed his hand on a puck in the crease. Scheifele was stopped by Jeremy Swayman, who allowed five goals on 33 shots for just his second regulation loss this year.
Lowry pushed the lead to 4-0, tapping in centring pass from Mason Appleton 85 seconds into the third.
Brandon Carlo would end Hellebuyck’s shutout bid at 14:22, his point shot appearing to graze off Brenden Dillon, fooling Hellebuyck in the process.
Niederreiter’s second of the night, and second on the power play, came with 19 seconds to go.
The Jets finished their four-game homestand with a 3-0-1 record and enter the Christmas break before a one-off in Chicago on next Wednesday.
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