cadillacnews
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Dawson Mercer and Kyle Connor both found the back of the net twice, powering the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
The matchup marked the return of former Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to Winnipeg for the first time since being traded to the Devils, though he did not see any action. Instead, Jake Allen got the start in net for New Jersey and made 21 saves. On the other side, former Devils netminder Nico Daws stopped 19 shots for Winnipeg.
Cody Glass and Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils. The win pushed Winnipeg's winning streak to four games while snapping New Jersey's at five.
After Mercer put the Jets ahead 3-2 on the power play at 11:58 of the third period, Connor secured the victory with an unassisted empty-net goal.
The Devils, who trailed 2-0 after the first period, tied the game in the second with two goals just 44 seconds apart. Bratt scored at 1:14 off a setup from Arseny Gritsyuk behind the net, with Jack Hughes also assisting to extend his point streak to six games. Glass then tied it at 1:58 by deflecting Jonathan Kovacevic's shot past Daws.
Connor opened the scoring during a two-man advantage at 15:06 of the first period, redirecting Cole Perfetti's pass past Allen. Mark Scheifele also assisted, moving into a second-place tie with Dale Hawerchuk in franchise history with 550 assists.
Key Analysis
The Jets' special teams played a crucial role, with Connor's power-play goal and Mercer's go-ahead tally with the man advantage. Winnipeg's ability to capitalize on opportunities proved decisive in a tightly contested game.
In other NHL action:
Gabriel Landeskog scored his second goal of the game early in the third period to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Devon Toews added a goal and an assist, while Brock Nelson, Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas (empty net) also scored. Cale Makar contributed two assists and Mackenzie Blackwood made 28 saves. Darren Raddysh and Easton Cowan each had a goal and an assist for Toronto, and Jack Roslovic also scored. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 22 shots for the Maple Leafs, who have lost four straight and six of seven.
Cole Hutson's goal 74 seconds into overtime, set up by Alex Ovechkin, gave the Washington Capitals a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. Matt Roy and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored for Washington, and Logan Thompson made 23 saves. Ridly Greig and Hayden Hodgson scored for Ottawa, and Samuel Ersson stopped 14 shots.
Kirill Kaprizov scored on a power play 21 seconds into overtime, and Jesper Wallstedt made 27 saves as the Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. Bobby Brink scored in regulation for Minnesota. Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal, which extended its point streak to 11 games (8-0-3). Jacob Fowler stopped 22 shots.
Jimmy Snuggerud had a goal and an assist, including the game-winner in the third period, as the St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2. Pius Suter and Justin Barron also scored for St. Louis, which snapped a three-game skid. Moritz Seider and Andrew Copp scored for Detroit, which has lost five straight. Joel Hofer made 30 saves for the Blues, while John Gibson had 30 saves for the Red Wings.
Originally reported by cadillacnews.