Jets 5, Rangers 2
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Winnipeg center Bryan Little scored two first-period goals and added an assist to lead the Jets to a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Friday night at the MTS Centre.
Little's 11th and 12th goals of the season gave the Jets an early 2-0 lead, defenseman Dustin Byfuglien scored his ninth and fellow blue-liner Tyler Myers added his third for the Jets (15-15-2) in the second period.
Jets left winger Andrew Ladd scored into the empty net with just over a minute left in the game, his ninth goal of the season.
Right winger Blake Wheeler had four assists, setting up both goals by Little, feeding Myers for the club's fourth goal late in the second period and then sliding the puck to Ladd for the empty-netter.
Winnipeg led 3-1 and 4-2 at the period breaks.
The Rangers (19-11-4) got their goals from center J.T. Miller, his sixth of the season, and defenseman Dan Boyle, his third.
New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist had a hectic night, turning aside 31 shots. Across the ice, Winnipeg rookie netminder Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves.
The loss was the second in as many nights for the Rangers, who fell 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Rangers center Derick Brassard, left winger Rick Nash and right winger Mats Zuccarello had combined for 14 points in the past four games but were ineffective against the Jets. Only Brassard found the score sheet, registering the second assist on Boyle's power play goal.
The Jets soared to an early 2-0 lead, fueled by two pretty goals from Little in a 2:31 span.
On his first goal, Little took a pass from Wheeler, waited out a sprawling Lundqvist and then fired the puck into an open net at 5:03. Several shifts later, Wheeler circled with the puck near the blue line and sent in a hard pass that Little redirected to the top of the net at 7:34.
The red light didn't flash, the referee signaled no goal and the Rangers darted out of their own zone as Little and his linemates hugged it out against the glass. Play was eventually whistled to a stop, replays clearly showed the puck clanked off the bar and the Jets resumed their celebration at the bench.
Miller cut Winnipeg's lead in half at 14:01 when he knocked a rebound past Hellebuyck after the initial drive by right winger Kevin Hayes. But Byfuglien fired a big blast of his own that whizzed by Lundqvist at 17:31 for another two-goal lead after center Mark Scheifele's tidy faceoff win.
Lundqvist wasn't particularly sharp in the first period but atoned for his mistakes in the second with 16 stops to keep the Rangers within reach. He was at his best thwarting a breakaway by Schiefele and then flashing his glove to rob center Mathieu Perreault from the low slot.
Ladd received his second penalty of the game and the Rangers took advantage at 14:12 of the second period when Boyle batted in a rebound off a shot from defenseman Ryan McDonagh. But Myers restored Winnipeg's two-goal cushion at 16:14 with a bullet past Lundqvist on a play orchestrated by Wheeler and Little.
NOTES: Rangers C Derek Stepan, who suffered broken ribs on Nov. 27, returned to the New York lineup Friday, while D Dan Girardi (knee) and D Kevin Klein (oblique muscle) remain sidelined. ... New York called up G Magnus Hellberg from the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL to back up G Henrik Lundqvist. G Antti Raanta took a slap shot from Minnesota D Marco Scandella to the head Thursday, and it's not clear when he'll return. ... The Jets had LW Matt Halischuk and RW Joel Armia in the lineup, both making their season debuts after being called up Thursday from the AHL's Manitoba Moose. Struggling LW/C Adam Lowry was demoted Wednesday. ... Winnipeg RW Chris Thorburn has taken over the franchise lead in games played (595), split between the Atlanta Thrashers (2007-11) and Jets (2011-15). ... Coming into Friday's contest, D Dustin Byfuglien had at least one shot in all 31 games this season. ... Rangers coach Alain Vigneault served as coach the AHL's Moose for one season (2005-06). New York assistant-coach Scott Arniel was head coach of the Moose from 2006 to 2010.