A complete team effort

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This article was published 28/03/2025 (192 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Just keep winning.

It’s easier said than done, of course. With little to no help coming from the out-of-town scoreboard lately, it may be the only way for the Winnipeg Jets to ensure they don’t get passed during the final sprint to the NHL’s regular-season finish line.

The hockey club took another big stride Friday night, relying on all the elements that have made them a legitimate Stanley Cup contender to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-0 at Canada Life Centre.

“A complete team effort,” said goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who stopped all 24 shots he faced for his league-leading seventh shutout of the season which also breaks his own franchise record.

“Everyone was playing their game, snapping it around, playing quick, hitting. Our details were great tonight.”

Chants of “MVP” repeatedly rained down from inside the sold-out rink late in the game, and there’s no question he’s going to get some Hart Trophy votes this year in addition to being a shoo-in for his third Vezina.

“They really believe in me and I’m really grateful to have them around and spend my career here. It means a lot,” said Hellebuyck, who also leads all goalies in starts (55), wins (42), goals-against-average (2.02) and save-percentage (.925).

Winnipeg improves to 50-19-4 and moves six points ahead of idle Dallas in the race for top spot in the Central Division and Western Conference. The Jets have nine games remaining, the Stars 10.

“I think we’re realizing we’re really close to playoffs, and we want to bring our playoff game every single night,” Hellebuyck said of following up an impressive 3-2 victory Tuesday over the Washington Capitals, who now trail the Jets by one point for top spot overall in the league.

“So I think that was a continuation of it. And this time of year is when you want to be playing your best hockey, and you feel your best when you play your best.”

HOT START

The Jets wasted no time, jumping all over the visitors and scoring on their first two shots of the game.

First up was Alex Iafallo on a spinning backhander after nice feeds from new linemates Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele 58 seconds into the opening period. Iafallo was skating on the top line for a second game in a row taking the spot of the injured Gabe Vilardi, who remains week-to-week with an upper body injury.

With the rink still buzzing from the tally, David Gustafsson made it 2-0 only 54 seconds later. Brandon Tanev intercepted a Devils pass and took a shot which Jake Allen stopped. Morgan Barron got to the rebound and poked it to Gustafsson, who scored his second of the year (and sixth of his career).

“That felt good to get an early one there first shift after being out for a while,” said Gustafsson, a frequent healthy scratch of late who was replacing the injured Rasmus Kupari in the lineup.

The Devils (38-29-7) are firmly locked into third place in the Metropolitan Division, with no real ability to move up or down, so this was exactly the start the Jets were looking for against an opponent that wouldn’t have felt the same urgency as them.

CREASE CRASHING

Coaches want their players going hard to the net, but there’s such a thing as taking it too far. We saw two examples in this one.

Jets forward Vlad Namestnikov had a nice rush which ended with him bowling over Allen and getting penalized in the first period. Devils defenceman Brenden Dillon was on the scene but showed some restraint — perhaps due to the fact Namestnikov had been his Winnipeg teammate for two years.

Later in the opening frame, New Jersey forward Erik Haula looked to have got the visitors on the board when he swept home a loose puck, but officials immediately waved it off due to incidental goalie interference. Haula was clearly in the blue paint and making contact with Hellebuyck as he scored. The Devils opted not to challenge the call.

PLAYING WITH POWER

Iafallo is also filling Vilardi’s spot on the top power play unit, and he cashed in his second of the night with just over four minutes left in the second period to really break this one open.

The 31-year-old pending unrestricted free agent, who recently told the Free Press he hopes to sign a contract extension with Winnipeg, is now up to 13 goals this year, which surpasses the 11 he scored last season with the Jets. He’ll need a red-hot finish to match or surpass his career high of 17, set on two previous occasions with the Los Angeles Kings.

“He knows what to do. He does it whether he’s on the fourth line or does it on the first line,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “He’s a smart hockey player but he’s also competitive, he goes into the hard areas. And wins a lot of his puck battles.”

SLUMP BUSTER

Goals have been hard to come by lately for Scheifele, who entered the night on a nine-game drought. So you know his rebound goal late in the second period on Friday felt good.

Scheifele beat Allen to a loose puck that was created by Connor’s initial shot going wide, which led to a lively bounce off the back boards.

His first tally since March 6 in Philadelphia gives him 36 on the year and has him up to 80 points for the third time in his career. Scheifele is now four away from matching his career high of 84 he had in 2018-19. (He had 82 in 2016-17).

With a goal and an assist, Scheifele also passed former Jets captain and linemate Blake Wheeler for most multi-point games in franchise history (201 and counting).

BABY BUMP

It was a busy couple days for Connor and his wife, Ally, who welcomed a healthy baby girl into the world on Thursday.

“A pretty life changing experience,” is how Connor described becoming a father for the first time. “We couldn’t be more excited about it.”

Despite likely being a bit sleep-deprived, Connor recorded a pair of assists — hitting 50 for the first time in his career — and is now up to a team-leading 88 points. He’s closing in on his career-high of 93 (set in 2021-22) and could ultimately challenge the franchise record of 100 set by former Atlanta Thrashers forward Marian Hossa in 2006-07.

CRANKING OUT THE HITS

Defenceman Luke Schenn has made a significant impact since joining the Jets at the trade deadline. He dished out six more hits on Friday to lead his team to pass retired Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown into fourth-all time in NHL history.

Schenn is now up to 3,636 which trails only Cal Clutterbuck (4,029), Matt Martin (3,922) and, believe it or not, Alex Ovechkin (3,732), who is about to become the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer.

KEY PLAY

Gustafsson’s goal at 1:52 of the first period gave the Jets a two-goal lead and really set the tone for the rest of the night.

THREE STARS:

1. Winnipeg G Connor Hellebuyck: 24 save shutout.

2. Winnipeg LW Alex Iafallo: 2 goals

3. Winnipeg C Mark Scheifele: 1 goal, 1 assist

EXTRA, EXTRA

Friday was the 12th sellout of the year and fourth in a row for the Jets.

Healthy scratches were defencemen Haydn Fleury and Ville Heinola. In addition to Vilardi and Kupari sidelined with injuries, defenceman Neal Pionk missed a seventh consecutive game with a lower-body issue.

Winnipeg went a perfect three-for-three on the penalty kill in addition to converting on their only power play chance.

The Jets will practise on Saturday at Hockey For All Centre (noon, open to the public), then close out the four-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against the Vancouver Canucks.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg