Tyler Toffoli had two goals and an assist for the visiting Winnipeg Jets in a 6-1 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist and Sean Monahan had two assists for the Jets, who are tied with the Colorado Avalanche (91 points) atop the Central Division. Connor Hellebuyck made 30 saves.
Brendan Gaunce scored, and Elvis Merzlikins made 21 saves for the Blue Jackets.
Kyle Connor struck at 1:26 of the first period to give Winnipeg a 1-0 lead. Mark Scheifele collected a Dylan DeMelo shot off the end boards and curled around the back of the net before feeding Connor for a one-timer from the slot.
The Jets went ahead 2-0 at 1:10 of the second period when Toffoli, behind the net and facing the glass, sent a no-look backhand feed to Ehlers, who one-timed a shot from the left circle.
Toffoli made it 3-0 at 9:45. Ehlers stopped high along the right wall after a zone entry and held on before feeding Toffoli, who wired a wrist shot from the left hashmarks stick side on Merzlikins.
Logan Stanley pushed it to 4-0 when he intercepted a clearing attempt by Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski at the left point and fired a slap shot far side at 12:00.
Columbus had its best chance of the game to that point with just over six minutes remaining in the frame on a three-on-one rush, but Kirill Marchenko’s shot from the right hashmarks hit the crossbar and went high.
Vladislav Namestnikov extended the Winnipeg lead to 5-0 at 18:24. Neal Pionk’s point shot hit Morgan Barron before hitting the end boards and bouncing out to Namestnikov in the left circle for a quick strike short side.
Gaunce broke the shutout 39 seconds into the third period. Jake Christiansen hit the left post on a shot from the slot, and the rebound bounced forward through Hellebuyck’s five-hole and went to Gaunce.
The Jets appeared to add another marker nearly four minutes later on a Barron deflection, but the call was overturned after video review confirmed a high stick.
Toffoli intercepted the puck in the neutral zone and scored bar down on a breakaway to make it 6-1 at 17:34.
–Field Level Media
