Photo by James Carey Lauder [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ed529668-25b7-43c2-b132-51f1a432d2e7.jpeg] Photo by James Carey Lauder Kyle Connor scored twice and added an assist, linemate Mark Scheifele had three helpers, while Connor Hellebuyck picked up his 39th win of the season as the Winnipeg Jets dominated the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Friday. The win improved Winnipeg's record to 46-17-4 on the season and bolstered the faith of those gathered in downtown Winnipeg in the Jets' postseason chances against a strong second-place team. With major playoff implications on the line, the Jets started hot and shut things down late in the game, extending the standings gap between the two clubs from eight to 10 points. It was touted to be a goaltending battle: The NHL's No. 1 backstop, Connor Hellebuyck and the league-leading Jets against his American protege Jake Oettinger and the Stars. Unfortunately only one goaltender showed up to play in the early stages, with Hellebuyck posting a clean sheet for nearly the entire game. He lost his bid for a seventh shutout of the season with 3:49 remaining. But he sure came close. Samberg opened the scoring on a bullet of a wrist shot 8:01 into the first period. A patient Scheifele found the pinching Samberg, who perfectly placed his wrister through a screened Oettinger. With three minutes left, the Jets added another, with Connor picking up his first of the game on another heads up pass from Scheifele - this time from the corner to the high slot. And just like that, it was 2-0 for the home team. Despite dominating the puck possession statistics early on, Winnipeg actually was outshot 9-6 in the first period, but led 2-0 through 20 minutes. “They're a good structured team," Dallas forward Mason Marchment said after the game. "They play a really good team game, they break out well and come up together well and their D are always in the rush. So it can be hard to get on top of them sometimes." Scheifele picked up his third assist of the game early on in the middle stanza. He chipped the puck up to Connor, who teamed up with Josh Morrissey for a sensational give-and-go. It was at that point - with Winnipeg having scored three goals on just nine shots - that Jets' faith burst out in a 'Helle's backup!' chant directed at Oettinger, who served as the No. 2 goaltender for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Dallas earned a power play in the second period, but the four-man unit of Adam Lowry, Alex Iafallo, Dylan Samberg and Dylan DeMelo killed the entire two minute shift. Morgan Barron put the cherry on top midway through the third, tipping home a Dylan DeMelo point shot to make it 4-0. Brandon Tanev picked up the other assist on the play, for his first point with the Jets since 2019. “I think it was exciting, it felt like it was getting towards the end of the year, it almost felt like a playoff game," Barron said. "They’re kind of creeping up on us in the standings there. I think you’re always going to know what you’re going to get from them... I felt that we did a really good job out there with our defensive structure out there tonight. We started there and played out from there. So, it was a good effort by us.” Marchment gave the Stars their lone goal with under four minutes to play, spoiling Winnipeg's shutout in the process. Hellebuyck finished the night by turning aside 24 of the 25 pucks directed his way, while Oettinger made 18 saves on the 22 shots he faced. Next up for Winnipeg is brief, three-game road trip through Seattle, Vancouver and Edmonton beginning on Sunday, before returning home against Buffalo next Saturday afternoon.
