Hellebuyck, Jets Earn Impressive 3-0 Shutout Over Avalanche

Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice, Mark Scheifele potted his 25th goal of the season, while Connor Hellebuyck earned his sixth shutout of the season with 22 saves.

The win improved Winnipeg's record to 29-12-3 on the year and catapulted the Jets back into first-place, league-wide, while interrupting Colorado's hot streak (8-1-1 entering Saturday's contest).

“I mean, you win 3-0 at home against a really good team, I’d say we played pretty well overall," Ehlers said post-game. "Against a team like that, they’re going to get a few chances. I think we kept that number very low today, so we’re happy with that.”

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Ehlers got the crowd up on its feet early, breaking through the Avalanche defenders and ripping his 13th of the season high, glove-side past Mackenzie Blackwood just 1:08 into the opening frame.

“I didn’t do a whole lot, to be honest," said Dylan Samberg on his assist on Ehlers' goal. "Just get the puck to the right players, let them do their magic. That’s pretty much what it was.”

The Ehlers shot was pretty much it for Winnipeg's highlights in the period, with the Jets failing to capitalize on a Cole Perfetti chance before the intermission.

But with Colorado buzzing quickly around the Jets' end for the better part of the period, a reliance on their star backstop was the name of the game late in the frame.

After pulling ahead 11-10 after 20 minutes of play, a strong second period saw the Jets gain some distance between their American rivals, finishing the second with 23 shots to Colorado's 15, scoring another goal in the process.

Moments after two Kyle Connor missed opportunities, the Jets found another way to beat Blackwood. It was Scheifele who cleaned up the garbage in the crease, hammering home a loose puck setup by Connor and Josh Morrissey.

Following his snub from the Canadian 4 Nations Cup roster, Scheifele (25) is up to 12 goals and 23 points in 18 games since rosters were announced. He is ranked second in goal scoring across the league, trailing just Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (29).

Both Connor and Pionk found goal posts in the frame, or else it would have been 4-0 Winnipeg through 40 minutes.

A strong performance from Hellebuyck was another big reason the Jets remained atop the visitors entering the third.

Winnipeg was able to shut down the potent Avalanche attack once again in the third period, killing off a careless Connor high-sticking penalty with ease.

“I feel like we did a really good job against them," Samberg said. "The past two games have been really good, defensively as a team. We held them to minimal scoring chances, which is what you’ve got to do against teams like this.”

Colorado pulled Blackwood for the extra attacker with three minutes to play, but it was Winnipeg that benefitted on the man disadvantage. Adam Lowry found Ehlers, who put his 14th of the year into the yawning cage, sealing the deal on the Jets clean sheet.

Hellebuyck turned aside all 22 of the Avalanche shots, while Blackwood made just 26 stops on the 28 pucks sent his way by Winnipeg.

“Yeah, he's been fantastic all year," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of Hellebuyck. "And not just this year, for me he’s been one of the top guys in the league for a while. I think that that is earned. It's consistency over time, giving your team a chance to win..."

Next up for the Jets is the sixth game of the season-high, eight-game homestand. It will be an all-Canadian matchup on Tuesday night, as the Vancouver Canucks roll into town for a 7:00 PM showdown.