Connor Hellebuyck made 34 saves to help the Winnipeg Jets defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 at United Center. The Jets (17-17-3) have won the first three games against the Blackhawks (22-10-5) this season, including two in a row in Chicago. Hellebuyck made 85 saves on 87 shots in the three victories. Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Drew Stafford scored for the Jets, who have won two straight games and four of their past five (4-1-0). Defenseman Jacob Trouba had two assists. Artem Anisimov scored in his return to the Chicago lineup after missing three games because of an upper-body injury. Corey Crawford made 31 saves for the Blackhawks, who have lost three in a row (0-2-1). Winnipeg took a 2-0 lead in the first period. Wheeler scored off the rebound of Trouba's shot from the right point at 8:27 to make it 1-0, and Scheifele deflected Trouba's shot through traffic to make it 2-0 at 14:48.
Hellebuyck made 13 saves in the first, when shots on goal were 13-13. He had 12 in the second period and eight in the third. Chicago pulled within 2-1 on Anisimov's goal at 7:37 of the second period. Anisimov scored after getting a pass in front of the net from Patrick Kane. Artemi Panarin got the secondary assist to extend his point streak to eight games. Crawford's best period was the second, when he made 12 saves, including one with 4:38 left to stop a breakaway by former Blackhawks defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Stafford scored at 2:27 of the third to put the Jets up 3-1.
* Scheifele skated to the front of the net and tipped Trouba's shot past Crawford for his 15th goal.
* Hellebuyck made back-to-back saves late in the second period to protect a 2-1 lead. He stopped Vinnie Hinostroza with his stick with 3:19 left before denying Ryan Hartman's attempt off the rebound.
* The Blackhawks played without injured right wing Marian Hossa (upper body) for the second straight game. Hossa could miss the next two games. … Kane needs two points to reach 700 for his NHL career. … Winnipeg forward Brandon Tanev missed his second game in a row with an undisclosed injury. … The Jets must remove at least two players from their roster by Wednesday afternoon, after the NHL roster freeze for Christmas ends.
* Scheifele skated to the front of the net and tipped Trouba's shot past Crawford for his 15th goal.
* Crawford bailed out Kane on Byfuglien's breakaway in the second period. Byfuglien stole the puck from Kane with less than five minutes left and took off for the Blackhawks net, but Crawford stopped his attempt with his pads.
* Stafford played 8:58 but helped Winnipeg's fourth line make a big impact. Along with his goal, Stafford had three shots on goal, three hits and one blocked shot, and he got 1:36 in shorthanded ice time.
* The Blackhawks played without injured right wing Marian Hossa (upper body) for the second straight game. Hossa could miss the next two games. … Kane needs two points to reach 700 for his NHL career. … Winnipeg forward Brandon Tanev missed his second game in a row with an undisclosed injury. … The Jets must remove at least two players from their roster by Wednesday afternoon, after the NHL roster freeze for Christmas ends.
"They were fast and quick, and they have a good forecheck, but we just needed to be sharper. We just needed to be prepared from the drop of the puck and be ready to play. That's it." Anisimov said.
"You look at the last three games, there were some good stretches in all of them, but not what we were looking for. On home ice, we gave away some valuable points in the standings." Joel QuennevilleColumbus Blue Jackets @ Jets 5-3 - Thursday, December 29, 2016
Alexander Wennberg scored twice, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves to help the Columbus Blue Jackets win their 14th straight game, 5-3 against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. The Blue Jackets tied the third-longest winning streak in NHL history (1929-30 Boston Bruins; 2009-10 Washington Capitals). The 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins hold the NHL record at 17 in a row. The Blue Jackets play at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. The Wild won their 12th straight game, 6-4 against the New York Islanders, on Thursday. No NHL teams have ever played with each team on a winning streak of at least 11 games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Nick Foligno had a goal and two assists, and Saad and Lukas Sedlak scored for Columbus (25-5-4), which has a 16-game point streak (15-0-1). Bobrovsky won his NHL-leading 23rd game of the season and his 12th game in as many starts. Shawn Matthias, Bryan Little and Mathieu Perreault scored for Winnipeg (17-18-3). Michael Hutchinson allowed five goals on 35 shots, and the Jets failed to win a third straight game in seven opportunities this season. Matthias gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 2:36 of the first period, redirecting a point shot past Bobrovsky. Saad tied the game 1-1 at 7:55 after Hutchinson's clearing attempt behind his net turned into a giveaway. Saad intercepted the puck and scored his 14th of the season. Foligno scored his 12th at 16:29 to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead. Wennberg made it 3-1 at 8:21 of the second period as Foligno got tangled with Hutchinson in the crease. Winnipeg challenged the call but review confirmed a good goal, giving Wennberg his fifth point in four games. Wennberg scored his second on the power play 45 seconds into the third period to make it 4-1. After Little made it 4-2 with his sixth of the season at 6:29, Sedlak redirected a shot at 14:31 to make it 5-2 with his third. Perreault scored on the power play at 18:27 to make it 5-3.
* Sedlak tipped Jack Johnson's point shot past Hutchinson to restore the Blue Jackets' two-goal lead in the third period.
"It's tough. It seems like we can't get that third one. Now, to this point of the year, the focus is that you can't lose two in a row. We won two in a row and now we lost one. So we've got to get that next one for sure." Perreault said.
"I just think they don't let up. No matter what the situation is in the game, they're coming at you. It seems like they really capitalized on their opportunities and are good around the net." Little said.
"Well, we haven't folded yet, have we? We just won four of five. We've lost five in a row this year, so we're far from broken." Blake Wheeler
* Bobrovsky stopped a shot from the point and then saved a point-blank shot from Perreault to keep it 2-1 in the second period.
* Bobrovsky sprawled across his crease to get his right pad on a deflected shot by Matthias on a 2-on-1.
* Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien had an assist, four blocked shots, six hits, and led Winnipeg in ice time at 28:09.
* Jets forward Marko Dano left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury after falling into the end boards. "We're talking about weeks, easily," coach Paul Maurice said. … Blue Jackets forward Sam Gagner has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his past 11 games. … Foligno (31) and Saad (30) reached 30 points for the season. … Wheeler extended his point streak to six games with two assists (three goals, four assists). … The 1981-82 New York Islanders and the 2012-13 Pittsburgh Penguins each won 15 games in a row.
"It's tough. It seems like we can't get that third one. Now, to this point of the year, the focus is that you can't lose two in a row. We won two in a row and now we lost one. So we've got to get that next one for sure." Perreault said.
"I just think they don't let up. No matter what the situation is in the game, they're coming at you. It seems like they really capitalized on their opportunities and are good around the net." Little said.
"Well, we haven't folded yet, have we? We just won four of five. We've lost five in a row this year, so we're far from broken." Blake Wheeler
NY Islanders @ Jets - Saturday, December 31, 2016
John Tavares had a goal and an assist to reach 498 NHL points and Thomas Greiss made 32 saves to help the New York Islanders to a 6-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets at MTS Centre. Greiss won his ninth game of the season, making his first start since the Islanders placed goalie Jaroslav Halak on waivers Friday.
Nikolay Kulemin, Shane Prince, Ryan Strome, Andrew Ladd and Lee scored for the Islanders (15-15-6), who have scored at least four goals in five straight games. Shawn Matthias and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Jets (17-19-3). Connor Hellebuyck allowed four goals on 15 shots and was relieved in the second period by Michael Hutchinson, who made eight saves. Kulemin scored at 6:54 of the first period when he picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated into the slot. His initial shot was saved by Hellebuyck, but Kulemin was able to get behind the defense to his own rebound for his fifth of the season. Tavares made it 2-0 with his 11th goal at 12:25. Jets forward Joel Armia was unable to clear the puck along the boards, allowing Tavares a clear path to the net. Prince made it 3-0 at 2:26 of the second period. Strome scored at 14:13 on New York's 15th shot to make it 4-0, ending Hellebuyck's night. Strome has five points in four games. Matthias scored a shorthanded goal 19:30 of the second period. Lee scored his ninth goal in the past 13 games at 8:38 of the third period. Ladd scored his fourth goal in his past four at 10:18. Ehlers made it 6-2 on a power play at 16:55.
* Lee held off Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba with one arm and used his other to get his stick on Josh Bailey's pass in front, redirecting it past Hutchinson in the third period.
* Greiss stopped Jets forward Adam Lowry from point-blank range early in the second period to preserve the Islanders' 2-0 lead.
* Islanders defenseman Dennis Seidenberg had a plus-3 rating and blocked two shots in 19:53 of ice time.
* Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey was a plus-2 in his 300th career NHL game. … Lee has 13 goals in his past 17 games. … Winnipeg has allowed 52 goals in the second period this season, most in the NHL.
"That effort level tonight out there wasn't acceptable and definitely something that needs to be addressed." Mark Scheifele said.
"We got young guys up front and when they have a minus-3 night, there's not much said. You don't notice it and you don't ask me a lot of questions about it. When you have a couple of young guys, or anybody, struggling on the back end a little bit, you sort of notice it. When you have a young guy in net who has a tough night, you see it front and center. Two of [Hellebuyck's] last three games have been pretty darn good, one very good. But tonight he really struggled in that net, as did the rest of the hockey team. So he has to find a way to get better and we all have to do better in front of him to give him a chance." Paul Maurice
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