The Winnipeg Jets just keep soaring.
The Jets became the first NHL team to 30 wins with a 6-1 thrashing of the visiting Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
Winnipeg will look to continue its winning ways when it hosts the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.
The Jets have won two consecutive games and are 3-1-2 on an eight-game homestand that will conclude Saturday against the Calgary Flames.
“The group of guys we have, the balance throughout our lineup, the different types of players and skill and size and competitiveness is really what’s made us have a great first 40-some games here,” Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “Obviously, all that means is we’ve got to work harder every single day to keep pushing, keep building through the second half (of the season) and not waste this opportunity.”
Kyle Connor recorded a natural hat trick and added an assist Tuesday to move into a tie with Mark Scheifele for the team lead in goals with 26. They are tied for third in the NHL behind only Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (31) and Florida’s Sam Reinhart (27). Connor tops the Jets with 59 points, which ranks seventh best in the league.
“You’re just seeing a guy (in Connor) that’s super confident in his game, his shot, his stickhandling …” Jets forward Cole Perfetti said. “You just see a guy that’s in complete control. He’s not second guessing himself. He obviously has a very high ability to score goals, and he’s got that knack for it. When he gets those chances, he doesn’t get excited or anything. He’s just calm and collected.”
The Jets also are strong at the other end of the ice, as goaltender Connor Hellebuyck leads the league with a 1.99 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
Jets coach Scott Arniel said his team has been getting “the opposition’s best every night.”
“They know if they don’t come out strong and play to their strengths, that we can do special things against them,” Arniel said. “That’s probably been the biggest thing for me the last three, four weeks, is that the teams we’re running against, they’re not giving us free opportunities. They’re making us grind.”
The Kraken are completing an up-and-down, five-game trip in which they lost 6-2 in Columbus and Detroit and won 6-2 in Buffalo and 4-2 at Pittsburgh.
Joey Daccord made 31 saves against the Penguins on Tuesday, and Jamie Oleksiak and Eeli Tolvanen scored 50 seconds apart midway through the third period to give Seattle the lead.
“I think it was a good team effort,” Oleksiak said. “I think we stuck with it. Worked well as a five-man unit, and we had success doing that. It was a good showing for us.”
The Kraken overcame another slow start, as they were outshot 16-2 in the first period, although Chandler Stephenson’s short-handed goal left them tied 1-1.
“We clearly had to weather the storm in the first period,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “Played a lot of D-zone, as a result. (Daccord) was excellent on numerous occasions. … We’ve talked about a mindset of staying with it and playing a full 60 (minutes). Games look different, all over the map. You have to be able to play the game you’re in and stick with it for 60.”
–Field Level Media
