Hellebuyck gets shutout as Jets blank Blackhawks
WINNIPEG -- It wasn't quite David versus Goliath but you could certainly chalk one up for the underdog with the Winnipeg Jets' 4-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
That's what happens when one team owns the other for the past couple seasons. The Blackhawks had won four games in a row against Winnipeg and six of the past seven.
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 27 shots in posting his first shutout of the season and third of his young career. The Jets were outshot 27-24.
Winnipeg improved to 9-7-2 while the Blackhawks fell to 11-4-2.
The Jets opened the scoring early in the game when rookie defenseman Josh Morrissey's slap shot from the high slot squeaked through Corey Crawford's pads at 6:26 for his first NHL goal. The assists went to right winger Nikolaj Ehlers and center Mark Scheifele, who entered the game tied for the league point lead at 20 with Dallas forward Tyler Seguin.
Playing most of the season on Winnipeg's top pairing with Dustin Byfuglien is rubbing off on Morrissey, who plastered left winger Vinnie Hinostroza with what appeared to be a clean hit late in the period, but was assessed a two-minute charging penalty.
Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba, who sat out the first few weeks of the season after demanding a trade before signing a two-year contract last week, got back in the good graces of the MTS Centre fans after blocking a slap shot from Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith -- one of the hardest shooters in the NHL -- with his upper body late in the second period.
The Blackhawks had a wide territorial advantage in the second period but were unable to beat Hellebuyck.
The Jets doubled the lead when right winger Chris Thorburn beat Crawford with a spin-around snapshot from the hash marks at 4:41 of the third period.
The Jets stretched the lead to 3-0 when rookie Finnish phenom Patrik Laine snapped home a rebound after a Byfuglien wrap-around at 8:32. It was Laine's league-leading 12th goal of the season.
And if there was any doubt about the final outcome, it was put to rest 11 seconds later -- while Laine's goal was still being announced over the PA -- when left winger Nic Petan wristed home his first of the year at 8:43.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville had seen enough at that point and pulled Crawford in favor of Scott Darling.
NOTES: The Jets scratched D Mark Stuart, D Tyler Myers and F Chase De Leo. ... The Blackhawks scratched D Michael Rozsival, RW Ryan Hartman and LW Tyler Motte. ... The Blackhawks had their 11-game point streak snapped. ... Jets C Mark Scheifele, who entered Tuesday's game tied for the NHL scoring lead, was named the league's second star of the week with three goals and three assists in four games. ... F Jordin Tootoo, who played his junior hockey for the Brandon Wheat Kings two hours down the Trans-Canada Highway, is wearing No. 22 (Two-two) during his first season in Chicago. ... There are a couple major connections between the two franchises. Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is the former assistant GM for Chicago, winning a Stanley Cup in 2010. Also, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews grew up in south Winnipeg.