Connor nets hat trick as Jets win fifth straight

WINNIPEG -For the fifth time this season, Winnipeg Jets fans leaving Canada Life Centre are in the market for some new hats.
Kyle Connor recorded his second hat trick of the season, and fourth of his career, as the Winnipeg Jets picked up their fifth straight win in a 7-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.
In fact, Connor's line with Nikolaj Ehlers and Pierre-Luc Dubois proved to be too much for the Canucks to handle, as the trio combined for 10 points. Dubois had a career-high four assists in the game, while Ehlers had a goal and two assists.
"We used our speed to find each other, to get on their D and get some loose pucks," said Ehlers. "And that worked out for us tonight. It's something that we're going to continue doing."

The Jets (26-13-1) swept the season series with the Canucks, outscoring them 16-7 in the process. However, the first game of that season series was a 60-minute defensive effort the Jets want to use as a template. Sunday's game, however, might lead to a bit more discussion in the video room after the Jets gave up a pair of two-goal leads in the contest.
"I thought it was a little sloppy," said Connor. "We've just got to be stronger, win more battles, make better decisions in our zone. Without the puck, we hear Bones saying it all the time, 'We want to look the same as a group.' It just makes it easier to read off of each other and simpler."
Ehlers, Dubois, Connor teamed up for a beautiful passing play to put the Jets on top just 6:22 into the game. Dubois spotted Ehlers near the bottom of the left-wing circle and hit him with the pass, then Ehlers sent it out in front across the crease to Connor in the slot. Number 81 made no mistake from there, beating Collin Delia on the glove side for his 18th of the season.
The assist was Ehlers' first point since missing 36 games as a result of sports hernia surgery - and he didn't even see Connor there.

"I know where he was going to be," Ehlers said. "And I just tried to throw it in his area, because I knew he'd be coming down off that right side."
"It's a feel play," said Connor. "His awareness, when he gets the puck down there, he knows that someone's going to be out there, whether it was me, or anybody, left-hand shot there."
After a disallowed Vancouver goal due to a successful coach's challenge 31 seconds after Connor's first goal, the Michigan product put the Jets up by two with 12:01 left in the first. He took a pass from Kevin Stenlund in the neutral zone and surged past Tyler Myers before tucking one five-hole on Delia.
Vancouver responded to Winnipeg's quick start with two goals of their own in a span of 2:19. First, J.T. Miller flipped home a rebound in front of David Rittich to cut the lead to 2-1, and then Jack Studnicka's stick redirected a Luke Schenn point shot with 2:27 remaining in the first period to pull the visitors even.

"You saw two different teams out there," said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. "You saw the team that we wanted to be in the first 11 minutes of the first period and that's how we want to play. They only had a couple of shots on net. That's how we want to play - and then we stopped playing that way for nine minutes and all of a sudden, they're back in the game."
The Jets offence got rolling again to start the second, as Ehlers circled the Vancouver net and snapped home his first of the season from the bottom of the right circle to make it 3-2.
The forward felt a lot more like himself in this game, his second since returning from injury.

"Last game was definitely a tough one," he said. "I think everybody could see that. So did everything I could to make my legs and my body feel better for this game today. And I felt pretty good."
Winnipeg turned that into another two-goal cushion, as Brenden Dillon - who assisted on the Ehlers goal - sent a long stretch pass to spring Adam Lowry on a breakaway. Lowry couldn't convert, but quickly sent a rebound in front to Morgan Barron who buried his second in as many games.
That was the end of the night for Delia, who allowed four goals on 13 shots.

Before the Jets could get comfortable up 4-2, Bo Horvat fired a laser beam from the right wing that beat Rittich over the shoulder 91 seconds after the Barron goal to make it 4-3. Vancouver then tied in on a power play with 10:24 remaining in the middle frame, just the second goal the Jets penalty kill has allowed in the last seven games.
The seesaw affair continued as the Jets took the lead for the third time in the game with 1:43 to go in the second. Sam Gagner's cross-ice pass gave Axel Jonsson-Fjallby some space to work with as he gained the zone. His wrister from the left circle went through the legs of Schenn, and past Spencer Martin for his third of the season and a 5-4 Jets lead through 40 minutes.
"Actually I changed (my) tape job for today, changed to white tape," Jonsson-Fjallby said. "I used Schmidty's brand there, "Short Side" so I guess that was it."

Dylan DeMelo added a shorthanded goal, which Jonsson-Fjallby assisted on, with 14:31 left in regulation to give the Jets their third two-goal cushion. But this time, there would be no Canucks comeback, as Connor finished off the hat trick with 6:18 to go.
Now, the Jets stare down a run of eight of their next nine on the road.
"You've got to play the right way on the road or you're going to get burned," Bowness said. "We got burned and that's just some harsh reminders out there today about when you get away from our game. That old game slipped in and we've got to get rid of that for 60 minutes, every road game."