Carter Brooks Winnipeg Jets Post-game Report Welcome to the Kyle Connor show. On Tuesday evening, fans at Canada Life Centre were treated to a not-so-rare display from one of hockey's most prolific goal scorers. Potting a first period natural hat trick, Connor scored the opening three goals of the game, before even 14 minutes had drained off the clock. Taking on the Vancouver Canucks in an all-Canadian matchup, Winnipeg was hungry for another win in game six of a season-high, eight-game homestand. Neal Pionk, Nino Niederreiter and Mark Scheifele also scored for Winnipeg, which moved to 30-12-3 on the season, becoming the first team to reach 30 wins this year, while jumping back into sole possession of first-place, league-wide. Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 23 of Vancouver's shots, picking up his league-leading 27th win along the way. The other Connor - the one who scores all the goals - wasted little time giving the fans what they came to see. He potted his first of the game - and 24th of the season - just 6:59 into the game, capitalizing on a Kevin Lankinen giveaway behind the goal. Gabe Vilardi found his linemate wide open, who threw it into the open cage. Then, flipping the script, Connor scored his second of the game with 6:59 remaining in the frame - this one coming off a rebound from a Pionk point shot. Vilardi picked up the secondary assist - his second of the game - on Connor's 25th of the season. “I think it takes them out of it, completely," forward Cole Perfetti said. "Especially when you score two in a row that fast. A 1-0 game, they’re still in it. But when KC scores a second and third that fast, it is really deflating for them, and we just took over from there. It was a good boost for the group.” Moments later, Connor finished off his hat trick, scoring a natural marker with a whole 6:23 remaining in the first period, pulling out a move for the ages on a feed from none other than Vilardi. "Obviously just analyzing everything, reading the goalie, kind of," Connor said of his third goal. "And I've got a couple moves in my head that maybe I'm thinking, and just seeing where he reacts off of what I do, and just kind of take the space that's there, make him make a move." Winnipeg did not slow down there, as Pionk hammered home his sixth of the year on a blast from the point just 39 seconds into the second period. Niederreiter got another for the Jets as the frame wore on, as he capitalized on a give-and-go net drive with new linemate Rasmus Kupari. Putting up another 21 shots in the middle stanza, Winnipeg entered the third period up 5-0 and ahead on the shot chart 28-16. Vancouver looked like a team finishing off a five-game road trip with its backup goaltender in net, while Winnipeg looked like a club eager to build off a shutout performance. Scheifele made it 6-0 1:31 into the third on a net-front power play marker, taking a Connor setup pass and burying his 26th of the year. A difficult neutral zone play from Logan Stanley led to Vancouver's lone goal of the affair, as Nils Hoglander beat Hellebuyck cleanly, spoiling his bid for a second-straight shutout. Hellebuyck finished the night with 23 saves on the 24 Canucks shots sent his way. Lankinen made 27 stops on the night, allowing six pucks past him. Next up for Winnipeg is the final two games of the lengthy homestand, as Seattle rolls into town on Thursday night, before Calgary pays a visit for Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyMTI2MDg4NjIzNTY0Nzc2/thn.jpg]
