Jets Power Past Golden Knights for 4-1 Home Win

The Winnipeg Jets have found another win. Thanks to goals from Kyle Connor, Alex Iafallo, Cole Perfetti and Mark Scheifele, the Jets took care of the visiting Vegas Golden Knights thanks in large part to a strong performance from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. 

“We always say as a team, bend, don't break," Perfetti said post-game.

"So other teams are going to get chances. They're going to get sustained o-zone time. But as long as we don't break and stay within our system and everyone's still pulling in the same direction, we're going to get out of it and we'll be fine. And I think tonight was a good example of that.”

The Jets needed a full 10 minutes to find their first shot on goal of the game, falling behind Vegas 9-0 in the early stages.

But somehow it took until the 17-minute mark for either team to actually find the twine. And believe it or not, despite being heavily outshot in the frame, it was Winnipeg that got on the board first.

Connor blasted home his 32nd of the season following a strong offensive play on the blueline from defenceman Josh Morrissey. After shaking his defender, Morrissey found Connor all alone, cross-ice, who one-timed the puck past Adin Hill for the 1-0 marker. 

The Jets did trail the visitors on the shot chart after 20 minutes, but hung onto the late goal to remain ahead where it mattered most.

The middle stanza saw an offensive explosion from Winnipeg, which got two more goals in the frame.

The first came off the stick of Iafallo, who capitalized on a brutal Shea Theodore turnover, putting the puck past Hill, top corner 2:08 in.

Then, just 1:58 later, it was Perfetti who tapped home a perfect saucer pass from linemate Gabe Vilardi on a two-on-one. This time it was Vilardi who flicked the puck over the sprawling Theodore, making it 3-0 Winnipeg just 4:06 into the second period.

With Iafallo in the box for removing the helmet of Jeremy Lauzon, the Vegas power play finally got on the board. Colton Sissons was the last Golden Knight to touch the puck before it trickled past Hellebuyck, cutting Winnipeg's lead to two goals.

Late in the period, Scheifele took exception to a hit by Oakbank's Brett Howden on linemate Kyle Connor. He dropped the gloves in defence of his teammate for just the 10th time of his career.

“Obviously, you don't want a guy like Scheif fighting very often," Perfetti said of his teammate.

"But when the opportunity presents itself like that, Howden takes a pretty good run at KC and Scheif’s right there. I mean, he's obviously not afraid to jump in and that shows a lot about him and our team and our culture. And we're all in this together. We're sticking with it. We're a team. We're a family in here. No matter the score, the outcome, where we are in the standings, whatever it is, we're going to be in this fight together. And I think when one of your best players does that, it really shows that.”

The Golden Knights remained ahead 21-16 in shots entering the third period. 

Brad Lambert had the best chance of the first half of the third period, to which his strong net drive resulted in a heavy collision with Hill and the puck rattling off the crossbar and out of harm's way, keeping the teams stuck at the two-goal differential. 

With Dylan Samberg in the box for high sticking, the Golden Knights pulled Hill for the extra attacker, but the Jets managed to hold off the six-on-four disadvantage, with Connor finding Scheifele for the empty-net marker as time ticked down on the clock, sealing the deal for Winnipeg. 

Hellebuyck turned aside 26 of the 27 pucks sent his way by Vegas, while Adin Hill made 17 stops on 20 Winnipeg shots on goal. 

Next up for Winnipeg is the first of two-straight games against the league leading Colorado Avalanche in the Thursday night home test.