The Winnipeg Jets continue to rise.
The Jets defeated the visiting Vancouver Canucks 6-1 on Tuesday, becoming the first NHL team to reach 30 wins.
Winnipeg will look to continue that winning streak when it hosts the Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.
The Jets have won their second straight and are now 3-1-2 on an eight-game homestand that concludes Saturday against the Calgary Flames.
“Our first 40-some games here have been great because of our depth, the balance throughout our lineup, the different types of players, skill, size and competitiveness,” Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. ” he said. “Obviously, what that means is we have to work harder every day to keep pushing and continue to grow throughout the second half (of the season) and not let this opportunity go to waste.”
Kyle Connor scored a natural hat trick on Tuesday and also added an assist, tying him for the team lead with 26 goals with Mark Scheifele. They are tied for third in the NHL behind Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (31) and Florida’s Sam Reinhart (27). Conner leads the Jets with 59 points, seventh in the league.
“(Conner) has a guy who’s very confident in his game, his shot, his stickhandling…” Jets forward Cole Perfetti said. “You see a guy who is in complete control. He doesn’t second-guess himself. He obviously has a very high ability to score goals and has that talent. Those chances. He didn’t get excited or anything when we got him.” He’s just calm and collected. ”
The Jets are also strong on the other end, with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck leading the league with a 1.99 goals-against average and .929 save percentage.
Jets coach Scott Arniel said his team is “getting the best out of our opponents every night.”
“They know that if they don’t come out strong and play to their strengths, we can do something special against them,” Arniel said. “Probably the biggest thing for me over the last three or four weeks is that the opposing teams aren’t giving us free chances. They’re making it difficult for us.”
The Kraken are coming off an eventful five-game series, losing 6-2 in Columbus and Detroit, winning 6-2 at Buffalo and 4-2 at Pittsburgh.
Joey Daccord made 31 saves against the Penguins on Tuesday, and Jamie Oleksiak and Eeli Tolvanen scored 50 seconds apart midway through the third period to give Seattle the lead.
“I think it was a good team effort,” Oleksiak said. “I think we stuck with it. We worked well as a five-man unit and it was successful. It was a good result for us.”
The Kraken overcame another slow start, falling behind 16-2 in the first period, although a short goal by Chandler Stevenson broke the tie at 1-1.
“Obviously we had to weather the storm in the first period,” Kraken coach Dan Bylsma said. “As a result, we played a lot of D-zone. (Daccord) was great a lot of times. … We talked about the mindset of keeping it that way and playing the full 60 minutes. Like every game is different. You must be able to play the game you are participating in on the “visible” map and continue to do so for 60 minutes. ”
–Field level media
