Jets at Stars
The Winnipeg Jets look to continue building on the statement they made in the season opener when they play at the Dallas Stars on Saturday, two nights after scoring three goals in a 1-minute, 44-second span of the third period en route to a 5-1 victory at St. Louis. But for all the scoring fury the Jets unleashed against the Blues, it was goaltender Connor Hellebuyck who kept St. Louis at bay before Winnipeg began finding the back of the net with impressive regularity.
“I was having some fun out there,” Hellebuyck told reporters after opening his season with 41 saves. “Everyone was doing their job. If they do that at the highest level, I think we should be a good team.” The Stars made new coach Jim Montgomery a winner in his debut Thursday, riding three second-period goals in a stretch of 1:36 and a strong performance from Ben Bishop to a 3-0 home triumph over Arizona. “After the win, I was thinking immediately of what we need to work on for us to get better,” Montgomery told the media after Bishop’s 25th career shutout. The Jets swept the four-game season series from Dallas in 2017-18, scoring at least four goals in each contest and outscoring the Stars 18-8 overall.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet West (Winnipeg), FS Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE JETS (1-0-0): Winnipeg finished second in the NHL in goals per game last season (3.33) and got plenty of firepower in the opener, starting with forward Patrik Laine - last year’s league-leader with 20 power-play goals - scoring with the man advantage in the first period. Center Adam Lowry, forward Blake Wheeler and forward Kyle Conner each scored during the third-period burst, with left wing Brandon Tanev adding the final score. Center Mark Scheifele finished with two assists, all of which was plenty for Hellebuyck, who allowed a goal with 5:50 to go.
ABOUT THE STARS (1-0-0): Bishop made 30 saves, 22 coming across the final two periods, a much better outcome than last year’s season opener when he left the game after taking a shot to the mask. Forward Jamie Benn and defenseman Connor Carrick - who was acquired from Toronto this week - each contributed two assists, setting up goals by center Devin Shore, forward Alexander Radulov and defenseman John Klingberg. The Stars did back off a bit in the final 20 minutes, registering just five shots on goal.
OVERTIME
1. Klingberg had three shots and led the Stars in ice time (27:14) during the opener.
2. Thursday’s victory by Winnipeg moved coach Paul Maurice into sole possession of 10th place in league history for wins (649).
3. Jets F Kristian Vesalainen recorded an assist in 8:12 of ice time in his NHL debut.