Jets score seven in win against Panthers

WINNIPEG -- Kyle Connor scored twice, Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Florida Panthers 7-2 at Bell MTS Place on Sunday.

Connor has four goals in his past five games.
"I just try to play the same game no matter who I'm playing with," Connor said. "Playing with lots of speed, creating havoc. Whether you're playing first or fourth line, you've got to make the most if it when you're on the ice. That's what I'm trying to focus on every day."
\[WATCH: All Panthers vs. Jets highlights\]
Nikolaj Ehlers, Mark Scheifele, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault and Patrik Laine scored for the Jets (35-15-9, 79 points), who have won three straight and have scored 13 goals in their past two games. They lead the Nashville Predators by two points for first place in the Central Division.

Blake Wheeler had three assists. His 51 are three behind Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek for first in the NHL.
"It just kind of shows you the difference in what our team looks like when we're playing well and when we're a little bit off it," Wheeler said. "Earlier in the year, when we were a little bit off it, we struggled and we had to fight really hard to get our game where we wanted it."
Denis Malgin and Aleksander Barkov scored, and James Reimer made 27 saves for the Panthers (26-24-6, 58 points), who had won three straight. They are six points behind the New York Islanders and the Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild card into Stanley Cup playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"I think we played a good game, our first two periods," Barkov said. "I don't know, they just started scoring. We played a bad defensive game today and it cost us (the) whole game."
Malgin made it 1-0 on the power play, beating a screened Hellebuyck on the blocker side with a wrist shot at 8:57 of the first period.
Connor tied the game 1-1 at 12:06, scoring on a one-timer off a cross-crease pass from Wheeler.

"It's been great (playing with Wheeler)," Connor said. "Learning from him on the ice, off the ice. He's the captain of our team, our leader and one of our best players. So, every day I try to learn as much as I can from that guy."
Ehlers scored to make it 2-1 at 4:39 of the second period. His wrist shot deflected off defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, and bounced off Reimer's arm into the net.
Barkov tied it 2-2 on the power play at 7:34 when the puck deflected off his left skate after Evgenii Dadonov batted a rebound out of the air.
"I wasn't unhappy at 2-2 with 90 seconds to go in the second period even though we didn't have great legs," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "I thought that we were managing the game OK. It got away from us in the third and that's when the back-to-back hurts. … That's when you're chasing and that's when the brain starts going on you."
Scheifele scored at 18:29 on a one-timer from the right circle to give the Jets a 3-2 lead.
Wheeler set up Connor between the circles for his second of the game to make it 4-2 at 3:38 of the third period.
Little found himself alone in front of the net after a pass from Tyler Myers and scored on the backhand to make it 5-2 at 6:03.

Perreault made it 6-2 at 15:27, and Laine made it 7-2 at 18:25.

Goal of the game

Scheifele's goal at 18:29 of the second period.

Save of the game

Hellebuyck's save on Derek MacKenzie at 15:42 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Connor's goal at 3:38 of the third period.

They said it

"Yeah, I don't know if you can take too much. I mean, I think we played well for 30 minutes. Obviously, it's a tough schedule and a little adversity for us. They came hard, just the way the game went. There's games like that in the NHL in the course of a season. I don't think you can take too much from it, negative or positive, it just happens and you move on." -- Panthers goalie James Reimer
"You look at the very first shift there, his directness to pucks when he doesn't have them. He was on the puck, on the forecheck, containing pucks. His skill with the puck has always been there. He's a gifted young man, with a great shot. But when he can get in with that kind of speed, that is such a fast line. Their transition speed, their forecheck speed - and he's a big part of it." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice on forward Kyle Connor

Need to know

Barkov has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past eight games. … Keith Yandle had an assist and now has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past nine games. … Wheeler has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a five-game point streak. … Scheifele has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a four-game point streak.

What's next

Panthers: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, FS-F, NHL.TV).
Jets: Host the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-W, NHL.TV)