WINNIPEG — Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist to lead the Winnipeg Jets to their third consecutive victory with a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday.
Connor reached 90 points for the second time in his career, three points off his career-best.
The victory also gained the Jets (51-19-4) some valuable space between its nearest competitor in the standings. Their 106 points leads the Western Conference and Central Division, six points ahead of idle Dallas. The Stars have a game in hand.
Mason Appleton and Cole Perfetti also scored as Winnipeg ended its four-game homestand going 3-1-0.
Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves for the Jets in front of a fifth straight sellout crowd of 15,225 at Canada Life Centre.
Pius Suter scored his 22nd of the season for the Canucks (34-27-13) and Thatcher Demko stopped 24 shots as the team ended their six-game road trip with a 2-2-2 record.
Winnipeg had the game’s first two power plays early in the first period. The 5-on-4 produced four shots on goal, but a 5-on-3 for 67 seconds didn’t register one shot.
Suter scored from the slot with 1:05 remaining in the opening period, upheld after a Winnipeg challenge for offside.
Connor tied it up 9:26 into the second with a low wrist shot through two Vancouver defenders to record his team-leading 38th goal of the season.
After Appleton scored the 2-1 at 6:24 of the third, Perfetti moved the puck through a defender’s legs and fired a high shot into the net.
Takeaways
Jets: Mark Scheifele assisted on Connor’s goal, extending his point streak to five games with one goal and five assists. Winnipeg has earned points in 11 of the past 12 home games (10-1-1) and have lost just three times in regulation at home in the past 25 games (19-3-4).
Canucks: The Canucks could have been looking forward to returning home after their longest road trip of the season, but their effort was good off the hop. They tested Hellebuyck with the game’s first three shots on goal. Suter's goal put Vancouver in front and extended his point streak to four games with two goals and six assists. Jake DeBrusk picked up the second assist to stretch his point streak to five games (one goal, four assists).
Key moment
Ehlers did a surprise spin around from inside the circle and fired the puck at the net. Appleton got a rebound and sent it past Demko for the 2-1 lead at 6:24 of the third period.
Key stat
The Jets have now won the second-most home games in a single season in franchise history with 28. The record is 32 in 2017-18. They only have three home games remaining.
Up next
Jets: Embark on a three-game road trip, starting Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Canucks: Return home to host the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.
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