Kyle Connor scored two goals in the third period, and Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-0 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.
Winnipeg earned its first shutout of the season following a team meeting during the morning skate to address their struggling penalty kill. They successfully killed all five of Seattle’s power plays in the game.
“We’re the worst PK in the league pretty much — we’ve got to take some pride in that,” defenseman Brenden Dillon said. “I think our room is prideful, guys, and we know we expect a lot better of ourselves. We know we’ve got to get better.”
Hellebuyck faced numerous challenges, especially after the Kraken pulled goaltender Philipp Grubauer late, but he held firm to secure his 25th career shutout.
“I look forward to 26,” Hellebuyck said with a sly smile.
The goalie credited Connor with making the decisive plays late in the game.
“He’s got so much skill,” Hellebuyck said. “Tonight was the way that NHL games should look. You should grind a team out, and then once plays are available, you make them, and he’s got the skill to make them clearly.”
Dominic Toninato also scored for the Jets, who have won four of their last six games. Paul Stastny, Mark Scheifele, and Logan Stanley had assists as the Kraken struggled early once again.
Stastny capitalized on a turnover by Carson Soucy behind the net and found Toninato for a one-timer past Seattle goaltender Grubauer at 5:24 of the first period.
Grubauer, who was pulled after allowing three goals on four shots in Seattle’s 6-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Monday, conceded the goal on Winnipeg’s third shot of the game. However, he rebounded with several tough saves, trading impressive stops with Hellebuyck as neither team scored in the second period.
Grubauer stymied Nikolaj Ehlers on a breakaway midway through the second and made another tough save after Ehlers centered the puck to Logan Stanley. Grubauer shut down the chance with a glove save.
Hellebuyck countered with a sprawling save on a Jared McCann shot 30 seconds later. A few minutes later, Grubauer quickly saved Josh Morrissey’s slap shot from a faceoff.
But loose defense let Grubauer down early in the third period when Connor took a pass from Scheifele and scored his 16th goal of the season at 47 seconds, skating freely in the crease. Connor added his second goal unassisted at 14:54 after taking a turnover from Adam Larsson at mid-ice and outskating the defense before beating Grubauer.
Grubauer stopped 28 of 31 shots.
“They’re one of the better teams we’ve faced this year and made it really hard for us to get out of our zone,” Grubauer said. “They forced us to make mistakes back there.”
Game Notes
Stastny needs one assist to reach 500. The Jets recalled D Ville Heinola from Manitoba of the AHL. D Mark Giordano (COVID-19 protocols) returned to the ice after missing six games. Giordano tested positive for the coronavirus while the team was in Tampa Bay and quarantined in Florida. Ehlers left the ice early in the third period with an apparent injury after taking a puck to the hand.
UP NEXT
- Jets: At Vancouver on Friday.
- Kraken: Host Columbus on Saturday.
