When the Winnipeg Jets lost to Colorado in the spring playoffs, he had a lot of trouble keeping the puck out of his own net.
That was no issue Thursday night as Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 35 shots he faced in a 1-0 Jets win and improved to 13-1 on the season.
It took just over a minute for the Jets to get on the board. Mark Scheifele stole the puck from Josh Manson at the Winnipeg blue line and lofted himself on a 2-on-1 with Gabriel Vilardi.
Scheifele carried the puck to the Colorado end before delivering a perfect pass onto the stick of Vilardi, who fired past a helpless Alexander Georgiev to make the score 1–0 after 66 seconds of play.
Winnipeg almost took a 2-0 lead shortly thereafter when Kyle Connor found himself alone on Georgiev but was swept aside.
As time went on, both sides had several good chances, including two chances for Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon that were canceled out by Hellebuyck.
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With 1:38 remaining in the first, Winnipeg’s league-best power play got its first chance of the game thanks to an Arturi Lehkonen slashing penalty, but Colorado reached the end of the period safely.
The Jets outshot the Avalanche 14–9 in the opening frame and kept the game going as the second period began, but were unable to muster any insurance goals.
Colorado began to wrest control as time went on and MacKinnon’s line looked particularly dangerous, but they couldn’t get to the back of the net as well, with most of their shot attempts missing the net.
With 4:26 left in the period, the Jets earned their second power play of the night when Devon Toews went into the box for tripping but again Winnipeg could not convert as the score remained 1–0 heading into the third.
The Jets outshot the Avalanche 10–9 in the second, but early in the third Colorado was the stronger team, cornering the Jets in their own end for long periods at one point.
Calle Makar had a great chance to level the score on the rebound in the third minute but Hellebuyck made a superb right pad save to keep the slate clean.
The Jets came closest to maintaining their lead with less than six minutes remaining when Mason Appleton set up Nikolaj Ehlers at the side of the net, but Georgiev robbed Ehlers with the glove.
With just under three minutes remaining, Colorado pulled Georgiev for an extra attacker and with 70 seconds remaining, Josh Morrissey took a holding penalty, giving the Avalanche an excellent opportunity to tie the score late.
But Hellebuyck and four penalty killers held on to seal the win as the Jets became just the second team in NHL history to win 13 of their first 14 games in a season.
Colorado outscored the Jets 17–4 in the final frame and 35–28 in the game.
Winnipeg will look to continue their winning streak when they host the Dallas Stars on Saturday at 2 p.m., with pregame coverage on Power 97 beginning at noon.
