Categories: Game Scores

Winnipeg Jets breeze past Montreal Canadiens, get series sweep

Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves to earn his 20th victory and second shutout of the season as the Winnipeg Jets swept a two-game series at Montreal with a 5-0 victory Saturday night.

Nikolaj Ehlers, Andrew Copp and Mathieu Perreault each had a goal and an assist and Paul Stastny and Derek Forbort also scored for the Jets, who defeated the Canadiens 4-2 Thursday night.

Montreal goaltender Jake Allen, making his third straight start in place of the injured Carey Price, stopped 20 of 25 shots.

The Jets, without captain Blake Wheeler because of a concussion, broke a scoreless tie with three second-period goals.

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They opened the scoring at 10:13 as a quick breakout from their own end nearly sent Pierre-Luc Dubois on a breakaway from the Montreal blue line, but he couldn’t quite handle the pass and the puck rolled toward the Canadiens’ net. Allen came out and dove headfirst to poke the puck to the left-wing boards, but Montreal defenseman Jeff Petry slid the puck right to Stastny, who settled it with his skate and fired a wrist shot from between the top of the faceoff circles that squeezed between Allen’s left arm and torso as he tried to scramble back into position.

The Jets made it 2-0 with a power play goal by Ehlers at 16:57 of the second. Copp won a faceoff in the Montreal end, Neal Pionk got the puck at the right point and sent a cross-ice pass to Ehlers, whose shot made it past Allen as Perreault provided a screen out front.

Montreal coach Dominque Ducharme challenged the goal as Perreault slightly clipped Allen’s glove as he skated backward just outside the top of the crease, but officials ruled it was a good goal.

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Forbort made it 3-0 with just 28.8 seconds remaining in the second, snapping a sharp-angle shot from the right wing off Allen’s glove and into the net.

Copp notched a power-play goal at 7:17 of the third and Perreault tallied unassisted at 10:42.

–Field Level Media

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