Jets cruise past Sharks, close in on playoff berth

WINNIPEG --The Winnipeg Jets closed in on a Stanley Cup Playoff berth with a 6-2 win against the San Jose Sharks at Canada Life Centre on Monday.

The Jets remained three points ahead of the Nashville Predators for the second wild card from the Western Conference with two games remaining. Nashville eliminated the Calgary Flames from playoff contention with a 3-2 shootout win on Monday.
"There's no sense of letting your foot off the gas or sense of satisfaction or anything like that," Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey said. "Until you have that check mark beside your name on that standings sheet, we got to keep fighting and pushing for it. … The best part of it is we control our fate. If we win games and get the right amount of points, we control our destiny."

Morrissey had a goal and two assists, Dylan DeMelo scored, and Mark Scheifele, Mason Appleton and Adam Lowry each had a goal and an assist for the Jets (45-32-3), who have won two straight and four of five. Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves.
"We've been preaching the last little while to stay aggressive, stay aggressive," Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. "We're going for it, and we're going to stay aggressive. The last couple games here, we've been very aggressive. We've been setting the tone, setting the pace, and that's when we're at our best."
James Reimer made 27 saves for the Sharks (22-42-16), who have lost four in a row (0-3-1).
"We were a little bit overwhelmed tonight," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "That team played hard, they played fast. I was very impressed with them. … They came and played with an edge. They looked playoff ready to me."

Erik Karlsson scored twice to reach 100 points on the season (25 goals, 75 assists). He is the sixth defenseman in NHL history to reach the milestone and the first since Brian Leetch had 102 points with the New York Rangers in 1991-92.
"I think I'm physically and mentally in a good spot in my life, and I've just been trying to keep it going day by day and keep the motivation going as best as possible," Karlsson said. "You know, it's been tough as of late, but (I've) managed a way to get it done and I'm happy about that."
Quinn said, "I've been lucky to coach some great hockey players, but none greater than him, I'll tell you that. This guy has so much talent and so much skill. He's such a brilliant hockey player, but he's got the physical attributes to match. His physical gifts and his mental skills all work together. He's competitive and fearless and just got world-class talent. And he's healthy. Watching him every day, I knew how good he was, but I didn't know he was this good. It's just been a lot of fun to watch."
Karlsson scored 20 seconds into the game off a give-and-go with Jacob Peterson to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
Pierre-Luc Dubois tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 1:11, scoring on a one-timer off a tic-tac-toe passing play with Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers.
"We've been preaching a lot to stay in the moment," Bowness said. "We had one player make a mistake and they got an early goal, but we came right back with the power-play goal. So, there was no panic. That's what we've been preaching for a while, just stay in the moment. You're not going to win every shift; things aren't always going to go your way. Next shift up, get us going the other way again."

Lowry put the Jets in front 2-1 at 7:14 of the first. He finished Nino Niederreiter's wraparound attempt past a sprawling Reimer, who had been pushed out of position by Nikolai Knyzhov.
DeMelo extended it to 3-1 at 14:26, and Appleton scored on a rebound 16 seconds into the third period to make it 4-1.
"We're really making good decisions coming through the neutral zone," Bowness said. "When there's nothing there, we're putting it in the place where we can forecheck. When we can make the plays, we're making plays. And again, our [defensemen] are up and we've got everyone involved. And all four lines are rolling the way we need them to roll."
Karlsson cut it to 4-2 at 3:42 of the third with a power-play goal.
"It's just been an incredible year for [Karlsson] up to this point," Quinn said. "Two games to go, to get 100 points, it's pretty special. I have been saying this for a while, he's had a Norris Trophy type year. To have the points he's had 5-on-5 is really unique because of the way it's happened and the situation we're in. We're in a situation where we're not a playoff team and we're trying young players.
"To have the season he's had is just remarkable. I'm just really happy for him and proud of him, because it's been a tough go for him here over the past three years for a variety of reasons. No. 1 is health, and it's good to see him healthy. He's in a great place mentally. I just wish we could have done a little bit more winning for him."

Morrissey pushed it to 5-2 at 5:48 with a slap shot from the top of the left face-off circle, and Scheifele made it 6-2 at 7:35 with a one-timer off a cross-ice pass from Connor on a power play.
"I think we're playing free," Morrissey said. "We're playing aggressive and confident and on our toes, and that's what makes us a great hockey team."
NOTES:Karlsson joined Bobby Orr (six times), Paul Coffey (five times), Al MacInnis, Leetch and Denis Potvin as the only defensemen in NHL history to get 100 points in a season. … Dubois has 62 points (27 goals, 35 assists) this season, an NHL career high. … Sharks forward Logan Couture had an assist to reach 700 NHL points. … Sharks forward Tristen Robins had two shots and was minus-1 in 16:25 of ice time in his NHL debut.