The Jets improved to 22-9-1 on the season with a 4-2 victory over Montreal on Saturday.
The Winnipeg Jets are back in the winning column thanks to a 4-2 home victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.
Coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, the Jets were looking for a rebound before heading out on a two-game road trip next week.
They found exactly what they were looking for with goals from Gabe Vilardi, Adam Lowry, Kyle Connor and Vladislav Namestnikov and a strong performance in goal from Connor Hellebuyck on the evening.
Montreal's Patrik Laine was all jokes on Saturday morning, as he met with Winnipeg reporters prior to his first game back in town with Montreal. Although dropping one-liners on both Hellebuyck and Nikolaj Ehlers prior to the game, it was Hellebuyck and the Jets that walked away laughing on Saturday night.
"No flu tonight," Hellebuyck said following the game. "He had a lot of shots tonight. He's a good shooter. But nothing for him."
Lane Hutson got things going for the Habs early, scoring his first career NHL goal on a shot that beat Hellebuyck cleanly 6:48 in. But it was all Jets after that.
With Kirby Dach in the penalty box for high sticking, Gabe Vilardi found his champagne goal on the ensuing power play. A perfect no-look pass from Kyle Connor set up the winger perfectly at the doorstep, where he made no mistake pounding the disc home.
Then it was Adam Lowry who gave Winnipeg the lead just moments later. The Jets' captain banked home a drop pass from Nino Niederreiter, who faked out Sam Montembault that he was carrying the puck behind the net, before dishing it to his linemate.
With Cole Caufield and Christian Dvorak both in the box, Kyle Connor hammered home a power play one-timer, giving Winnipeg a two-goal lead on the only goal scored in the second period.
The Jets also killed off a two-man disadvantage of their own - thanks to a phantom Mason Appleton high stick and a sensational Hellebuyck stop on his old running mate, Patrik Laine.
With 12 minutes left in the third, Josh Anderson made it a one-goal game. The puck landed on his stick alone in the slot, and he made no mistake putting it past a slightly bewildered Hellebuyck.
Montreal pulled Montembault for an extra attacker in the game's final minute, and Laine had the best opportunity, but it was his old pal Hellebuyck who shut him down.
“He’s unbelievable, the best goalie in the league, in my view," Josh Morrissey said of his goaltender. "I get to see it every night and probably take I for granted when you watch it over and over and over again."
"He makes it look easy, but I guarantee it’s not. Just a special, special talent, and really a generational goalie in my view.”
Vlad Namestnikov got the empty-netter off a strong forecheck by linemate Alex Iafallo with just 5.4 seconds remaining.
Hellebuyck turned aside 26 of the 28 pucks fired his way, picking up his league-leading 19th win of the season. Montembault made 23 stops on the night on Winnipeg's 26 shots taken.
Next up for the Jets is a quick two-game-in-two-night trip through California with back-to-back late-night tests in San Jose and Anaheim on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both can be viewed live on TSN.
