Toffoli Scores Twice as Jets Shut Out Ducks 6-0

Trade deadline acquisition Tyler Toffoli scored his first - and second - goals as a member of the Winnipeg Jets in a monstrous third period, as the home team took care of business with a 6-0 over the visiting Anaheim Ducks. 

"That was great," Laurent Brossoit said of Toffoli's performance. "It's great to see for him. He's been you know fitting in right away with ease. To go out and prove something on the ice is I'm sure a big relief for him."

Sometimes it's Friday night at the fights, while other times it's just Friday night.

This time around, it was a bit of a snoozer in the early stages of the game, before a new-look Winnipeg club figured things out as the game went on.

With Cole Perfetti, Dylan Samberg, Colin Miller and Rasmus Kupari coming out of the lineup, Rick Bowness' club turned up the temperature with an offence-heavy performance as Brossoit collected his second shutout in as many games. 

Kyle Connor got the show going late in the first period, before Nate Schmidt added one in the middle stanza. 

Dylan DeMelo, Tyler Toffoli and Mason Appleton completed the deal for the host, which picked up win No. 42 on the season and moved to 89 points on the year, pulling into a three-way tie for first place in the Central Division.

“It was awesome," Toffoli said of the crowd's cheers. "I got a little taste of it in our first game, with the standing ovation too. Definitely a special moment and obviously nice to get my first one here and hopefully, keep rolling.”

That's right, despite the Jets' up-and-down play over the past two weeks, the team still sits first in the Central Division and is just three points behind the Vancouver Canucks for first in the west. 

Connor got the opening tally for Winnipeg, as he perfectly deflected a Dylan DeMelo point shot past John Gibson for his 28th of the season with 3:40 remaining in the first.

The Jets outshot the Ducks 11-6 in the frame, but fell allowed Anaheim back in with a strong middle stanza. Winnipeg did get a goal from Nate Schmidt in the frame, but just held on to a 21-17 shot advantage through 40 minutes.

It was the third period where things opened wide up. 

DeMelo picked up his first goal in a span of 63 games on a beautiful slap shot, before Toffoli took over the stat sheet.

Scoring just seconds after puck drop on a perfectly designed face-off play for his first as a Jet, he did it again just minutes later on a Winnipeg power play off a redirection.

Former and present linemate Sean Monahan picked up the puck as a souvenir for his pal, who beamed from ear-to-ear as fans gave him an extended standing ovation, not once, but twice as time ticked down. 

Appleton got another power play goal with just 5.5 seconds remaining in the game, finishing things off 6-0 for Winnipeg.

Winnipeg improved to 21-2-0 on the year when leading after 20 minutes, while pulling into a three-way tie for first place in the Central Division with Colorado and Dallas.

Brossoit made all 21 stops on the Ducks pucks he faced, while Gibson turned aside 32 of the 36 shots put on net by Winnipeg.

“They’re unbelievable," Toffoli said of his netminders. "The things they can do. I’ve been playing against them for a while now and it’s nice to have them on my side.”

The Jets will now hit the road for a season-high, five-game road trip through the Eastern Conference beginning on Sunday, with games every second day. 

Sunday's test in Columbus features a 5:00 PM central start time. All five games can be viewed live on TSN.