Hellebuyck steals the show with second straight shutout as Winnipeg Jets lead Colorado 1-0 – Winnipeg

When the Winnipeg Jets lost to Colorado in the playoffs this spring, they struggled to keep the puck out of their own net.

There was no problem Thursday night as Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 35 shots he faced in a 1-0 Jets win to improve to 13-1 on the season.

It took just over a minute for the Jets to get on the board. Mark Scheifele stole the puck from Josh Manson on the Winnipeg blue line and found himself in a 2-on-1 with Gabriel Vilardi.

Scheifele carried the puck to the Colorado end before laying a perfect pass onto the stick of Vilardi, who slid the ball past a helpless Alexandar Georgiev to make it 1-0 after 66 seconds of play.

Winnipeg almost made it 2-0 soon after when Kyle Connor stood alone on Georgiev, but he was denied.

Both teams had several decent chances during the period, including two for Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon, who Hellebuyck denied.

Receive the latest national news

For news affecting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts sent directly to you as they happen.

With 1:38 left in the first, Winnipeg's league-best power play had their first chance of the game thanks to an Artturi Lehkonen penalty, but Colorado reached the end of the period safely.

The Jets outscored the Avalanche 14-9 in the opening frame and continued to play as the second period got underway, but couldn't find an insurance goal.

Colorado began to wrestle away control as the period wore on, with MacKinnon's line looking particularly dangerous, but they also couldn't find the back of the net and missed the net on most of their shot attempts.

With 4:26 left in the period, the Jets earned their second power play of the night when Devon Toews went to the penalty box for a trip, but once again Winnipeg could not convert as the score remained 1-0 heading into the third.

The Jets outscored the Avalanche 10-9 in the second, but it was Colorado who was the stronger team early in the third, surrounding the Jets in their own end for long stretches.

Cale Makar had a great opportunity to level the score after a rebound in the third minute, but Hellebuyck made a fantastic save on the right side to keep the slate clean.

The Jets came extremely close to increasing their lead with less than six minutes remaining when Mason Appleton set up Nikolaj Ehlers on the side of the net, but Georgiev slid across to rob Ehlers with the glove.

With just under three minutes left, Colorado pulled Georgiev for an extra attacker and with 70 seconds left, Josh Morrissey took a holding penalty, giving the Avalanche an excellent opportunity to tie the score late.

But Hellebuyck and the four penalty killers secured the victory as the Jets became the second team in NHL history to win 13 of the first 14 games in a season.

Colorado outscored the Jets 17-4 in the final frame and 35-28 for the match.

Winnipeg will look to keep piling up the wins when they host the Dallas Stars on Saturday at 2 p.m. Pregame coverage on Power 97 begins at noon.