Hellebuyck makes 42 saves, Jets shut out Golden Knights

WINNIPEG -- Connor Hellebuyck made 42 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-0 at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

"It was one of those nights that they just hit you," Hellebuyck said. "I could tell early on when the puck was just going my way, bounces were going my way, tips were going my way, posts were going my way. It was just one of those nights."
Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the fifth straight game, and Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler each had two assists for the Jets (30-24-10), who have won six of eight.
"We played a team that showed a lot of urgency to start and our goalie was our best player," Winnipeg coach Dave Lowry said. "I didn't like our first period, no. I liked our goalie's first period. He gave us an opportunity to settle in and get going."
Logan Thompson made 22 saves for the Golden Knights (34-28-4), who were shut out in back-to-back games after losing 3-0 at the Minnesota Wild on Monday.

"[Thompson] is definitely not the problem," Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "He's giving us lots of chances to win every night. He's been great, honestly, for us and he's working hard. It's disappointing to not get one in the past two games for him."
Pierre-Luc Dubois gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 6:16 of the second period with a backhand on his own rebound on the power play.
"Not getting out of that first period with a goal I think really hurt us," Vegas coach Pete DeBoer said. "I thought we did everything right, but you've got to score to win games in this league and we didn't score on this [two-game] trip."
Evgeny Svechnikov appeared to give the Jets a 2-0 lead at 8:39, but the Golden Knights challenged for offside, and the call was overturned when video review determined Dubois preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
Mark Scheifele made it 2-0 at 15:14 with a tip on an Ehlers point shot.
"[Ehlers] was on the puck," Lowry said. "He created opportunities. We scored a goal where we had three guys up after it and two guys at the net. It's amazing what happens when you get pucks and bodies to the net."
Neal Pionk increased the lead to 3-0 at 11:06 of the third period with a one-timer from the left face-off dot, and Ehlers made it 4-0 at 13:51 by redirecting a Scheifele centering pass to the slot.
"I think [Hellebuyck] is always special," DeBoer said. "Vezina [Trophy winning] goalie, so he's a good goalie. We had enough good looks there to score some goals, but he had the answers tonight."

Forwards Zach Sanford and Mason Appleton each made their debut for the Jets after they were acquired in separate trades on Monday. Sanford had three hits and blocked two shots in 12:07, and Appleton had four hits in 15:24.
They gave us energy, I liked that line," Lowry said of Paul Stastny, Sanford and Appleton. "You know what you're getting with Mason. You're getting speed, you're getting someone who is going to get on top of the puck, someone who is going to turn over their pucks. Sanford draws a [holding] penalty. He does a really good job handling the puck and managing the puck. Stastny played a really good game in between them."
Appleton was selected by the Jets in the sixth round (No. 168) in the 2015 NHL Draft and played 138 games in three seasons before being selected by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.
"We're all familiar with [Appleton], very familiar with him, and it's good to have him back," Dubois said. "And 'Sandman', that's [Sanford's] new name, also good to have him here. I thought they played really well tonight. You never really know what can happen at the deadline. You lose guys that have been here for a while, guys that everyone loves on the team in [Andrew Copp] and [Nathan Beaulieu]. … I think [Appleton] and [Sanford] bring a lot to our team, and tonight they showed what they can do. They could have easily had one or two [goals], and a big penalty draw [by Sanford] to get our first goal."
NOTES: Hellebuyck has 28 shutouts in seven NHL seasons with Winnipeg. … Pionk's goal was his first since Nov. 9 (47 games). … Connor has scored 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in an eight-game point streak. … Ehlers extended his point streak to six games (eight points; five goals, three assists). … The Golden Knights have lost seven straight road games, with their last win March 4, 5-4 at the Anaheim Ducks. … The Jets have won the past five games against the Golden Knights and are 7-1-0 in the past eight. … Vegas forward Paul Cotter had two hits in 8:26 in his first game since Nov. 22. He was recalled from Henderson of the American Hockey League on Monday.