Nino Niederreiter had two goals and Connor Hellebuyck had to make just 21 saves for his second shutout of the season, as the Winnipeg Jets continued their stellar start with a 3-0 victory over the visiting Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday night.
Gabriel Vilardi also scored and Adam Lowry added two assists for Winnipeg, which wasn’t dominant while improving to a franchise-best 12-1-0 but won its fourth in a row while not allowing Utah to consistently threaten.
Niederreiter posted his second multi-goal of the season, while Hellebuyck wasn’t seriously challenged but came through when needed to record his 39th career shutout.
Meanwhille, Utah got a solid night in net from Karel Vejmelka (25 saves) but went 0-for-4 on the power play. Utah is 0-3-2 on the road since winning its first two away from home.
Winnipeg held a 12-6 shots-on-goal advantage during a scoreless first period. When Vejmelka was solid throughout, playing with plenty of confidence for a netminder making his third start of the season.
Utah showed more jump in the second period and produced quality offensive looks. However, Winnipeg opened the scoring with 2:03 remaining before the second intermission.
During the waning seconds of a Jets power play, and with Utah’s four attackers on the ice for an extended amount of time, Josh Morrissey sent a drive toward the net that Vilardi managed to get a piece of and past Vejmelka.
The Jets are an impressive 16-of-36 on the power play this season.
Hellebuyck preserved the Jets’ lead with less than 20 seconds remaining in the second, making a nifty glove save on Utah star Clayton Keller.
Winnipeg extended its advantage with 12:30 remaining in regulation via a three-on-two rush. Set up by Mason Appleton and Lowry, Niederreiter calmly deked Vejmelka to convert the insurance goal.
Niederreiter scored his seventh goal of the season on an empty-netter with 2:59 remaining.
–Field Level Media
