Blake Wheeler had two goals and an assist and Josh Morrissey also scored and added a helper as the Winnipeg Jets returned from the All-Star break with a 4-1 win at home over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night.

Mark Scheifele was the other goal scorer for the Jets, while Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves.

Tyler Johnson had the lone goal for Chicago. Petr Mrazek stopped 24 of 27 shots.

Chicago controlled most of the opening frame after hosting Arizona Friday night, with the Jets slowly getting back into their groove after coming off a break that saw eleven days between games.

Winnipeg struck first at 1:16 of the second period. Morrissey took the puck off the boards and danced in from the top corner of the circle, putting the puck into the net off his backhand.

The Jets built their lead to 2-0 with 12:27 remaining in the second period. During a four-minute high-sticking penalty by Chicago’s Sam Lafferty on Winnipeg’s Nate Schmidt, Kyle Connor put the puck on net from a distance, and it was tipped home by Wheeler. Morrissey picked up the secondary assist.

Winnipeg kept the offense flowing. The Jets went up 3-0 when Scheifele finished off a beautiful bit of tic-tac-toe with Wheeler and Nikolaj Ehlers with 7:51 left on the middle frame’s clock.

Chicago was finally able to capitalize as the game entered its final stanza. Johnson ended up on his knees, diving to slide the puck into the net only 2:08 into the third period to give Chicago a bit of a restored heartbeat. Jake McCabe and Jason Dickinson assisted on the goal.

That goal by the Blackhawks came too late, however, as the Jets smothered them as the seconds ticked away.

Wheeler put the puck into the empty cage with 25 seconds left in regulation to seal the victory.

It was Chicago’s fourth loss of the season to Winnipeg, an opponent it has been outscored 18-4 against.

–Field Level Media