Special teams propel Jets to victory over Chicago

WINNIPEG -Special teams were at the forefront of a special performance on Saturday.
The Winnipeg Jets went 3-for-4 on the power play, and added a shorthanded marker for good measure, as part of a 4-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.
"I think that was a great effort today," said Josh Morrissey, one of four goal scorers for the Jets. "I think the things we're trying to see out of our team are becoming more and more consistent. Hopefully we can keep that going"
To top it off, Connor Hellebuyck turned away 30 shots for his second shutout of the season, putting him into a tie for the early league lead in that department. It was also the 30th shutout of his career.
"I remember the first one," Hellebuyck said, reflecting on his first shutout, which came December 27, 2015 in a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh. "It's crazy. Let's not stop at 30. How about that?"

The Jets (7-3-1) now have points in six consecutive games and have won four of their five Central Division match-ups so far this season.
"The last couple of games have been what we want our team to look like," said Adam Lowry. "Coming home off of that road trip, we realized there was another level we needed to get to, another level we needed to find if we wanted to find success on a nightly basis."
The first goal of the game didn't come until the second period, when the Jets took advantage of their first power play opportunity. Mark Scheifele teed up Morrissey one-timer from the point at 10:04 of the middle frame, and the blast found its way through a maze of bodies and past Arvid Soderblom.

Morrissey's first of the season gave the Jets power play goals in consecutive games, following a 2-for-20 stretch.
"We've been working on it a lot, communicating amongst each other as players and also with the group," Morrissey said. "We've got to keep outworking the kill and try to build that power play as we move along here."
Special teams played a role in the 2-0 goal as well, as Adam Lowry pounced on a bobbled puck at the Jets blue line and took off, ripping a wrist shot past Soderblom off the rush for his third of the season - and second shorthanded goal, which is tied for the league lead.

It was also the first shorthanded goal the Blackhawks have given up this season.
"I just tried to get it off of my stick as quick as I could," said Lowry, who has scored numerous times using a deke to the backhand on shorthanded breakaways. Coming down the opposite side this time, though, he had to change it up.
"I didn't know what I was going to do," he grinned. "Any time you're down a man, you want to make the most of it. It's a big momentum swing. I was happy to see that one go in."
For good measure, the power play added another with 2:05 left in the second, using just seven seconds of the man advantage before Kyle Connor set up Pierre-Luc Dubois with a perfect cross-ice seam pass. Dubois cashed in his fifth of the season, with Morrissey picking up the secondary assist for his third multi-point effort, and a total of 11 points, through 11 games.

"When I'd come in here the last couple years, a lot of our pre-scout was on him," head coach Rick Bowness said of Morrissey. "He's got great instincts and great skill and he's very, very poised with the puck. Listen, he's a world class skater as well. This is kind of what I expected from him."
Nate Schmidt tallied the third and final power play goal of the afternoon five minutes into the third, as Cole Perfetti found the defenceman joining the rush late. Schmidt went up top on Dylan Wells, who came on in relief of the injured Soderblom in the third, for his second goal of the season.

Not only did Schmidt get to hear his personalized goal song, Mambo No. 5, inside Canada Life Centre for the first time, but the goal was also a reward for two key blocked shots he had during the game.
"You don't kill penalties unless you're willing to block shots, and he ate a couple of pucks," Bowness said of Schmidt.
"He was telling me before the game 'I love afternoon games, I love afternoon games.' And he backed it up today."

Hellebuyck has always said the same thing about afternoon games, and he backed it up as well.
"There isn't a whole lot of thought that goes into the day, and you show up and you battle," he said. "That's what I love to do. That's when I have fun."
The Jets will try and close out the home stand with a perfect 3-0-0 record when they take on the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. An effort like the first two games of the home stand will give them an opportunity to do just that.
"We have full confidence in our ability to score," said Bowness. "But we, for the most part, have cut down on those chances against from earlier in the year, and that's huge from this team."