Lightning, Bishop control Jets in 4-1 win
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- The Tampa Bay Lightning made it look easy Saturday night, skating away with a 4-1 victory over the free-falling Winnipeg Jets.
Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop stopped 31 of 32 shots. The pending unrestricted free agent has given up just one goal in his past two starts.
Tampa Bay (25-24-7) is unbeaten in regulation in its past four games (3-0-1).
Winnipeg (25-29-4) is headed in the opposite direction, dropping its fourth straight game as its playoff hopes grow bleaker. The latest losing streak comes on the heels of three consecutive victories that suggested perhaps the talented young squad had turned a corner.
The Jets fell behind early and showed few signs of life. They tried to make a game of it in the third period.
Jacob Trouba ruined Bishop's bid for a second straight shutout when he wired a shot past the Lightning goalie with just under nine minutes left in the third period.
But that's as close as the Jets came as Bishop withstood a late-game surge.
Victor Hedman sealed the win for the Lightning with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
Rookie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of 29 shots in making his second straight start for the Jets.
Ondrej Pavelec had seemingly taken over the No. 1 job in the Winnipeg net, starting eight of nine games until he went down with an injury earlier this week. He's expected to miss at least seven days.
Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele had the best scoring chance early in the game, shooting just wide on an otherwise open net. It turned out to be a costly miss -- and one of the few decent offensive looks the Jets had.
The Lightning struck first, thanks to Jonathan Drouin. The speedy winger stole the puck from Blake Wheeler and then sent a no-look backhand pass to Brayden Point, who beat Hellebuyck on the short side in a highlight-worthy play.
Brian Boyle made it 2-0 a few minutes later when he tipped Hedman's point shot past Hellebuyck.
The Jets appeared to have no answer for the Lightning, getting outshot 14-8 in the first period.
Winnipeg also saw several key players go down. Defenseman Toby Enstrom and forward Nic Petan both limped off the ice and went to the dressing room. Petan returned, but Enstrom did not. That left a major hole in the Jets' defense.
Tampa Bay kept pouring it on in the second period. Ondrej Palat ripped a shot past Hellebuyck to make it 3-0. Drouin then hit the crossbar moments later.
The Jets were stuck in neutral, unable to generate much offense.
The Lightning outshot the Jets 23-20 through two periods.
NOTES: Winnipeg has struggled against Eastern Conference opponents this season, going just 7-12-2 entering Saturday. Tampa Bay has also had its problems with the Western Conference with a 6-10-3 record. ... Winnipeg beat Tampa Bay 6-4 on Jan. 3 in Florida in their only other meeting this season. ... The Lightning begin their league-mandated bye week after Saturday's game. The Jets take theirs later in the month. ... The Jets are on a dubious streak, having gone 14 consecutive games with allowing at least three goals. Winnipeg has allowed a league-worst 75 goals in the 20 games they've played since Dec. 29. ... Jets D Jacob Trouba is enjoying a fine offensive season since ending a contract stalemate earlier this season. Trouba's 21 points in 42 games has already surpassed last season's total in 81 games. ... Tampa Bay scratches were F Tyler Johnson (undisclosed injury) and D Luke Witkowski. ... Winnipeg sat G Ondrej Pavelec (lower-body injury), D Mark Stuart and F Chris Thorburn.