Winnipeg extended their win streak to six straight, only losing one out of 15 games so far this season. The Jets defeated the Dallas Stars at Canada Life Centre on Saturday, November 9th. They almost shutout the Stars, however, Roope Hintz made sure to avoid the shutout when he scored late in the final frame for Winnipeg to secure a 4-1 victory. Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Nikolaj Ehlers scored the four goals for the Jets. It was an unfortunate loss for the Stars as they just broke a two-game losing streak on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks, winning 3-1. The Jets head to New York on Tuesday to take on the Rangers, and the Stars will be in Pittsburgh on Monday.
Dallas Stars Lineup:
Robertson – Hintz – Dadonov
Benn – Johnston – Stankoven
Marchment – Duchene – Seguin
Steel – Bourque – Blackwell
Heiskanen – Dumba
Lindell – Lundkvist
Harley – Lybushkin
Oettinger
DeSmith
Winnipeg Jets Lineup:
Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi
Perfetti – Namestnikov – Ehlers
Niederreiter – Lowry – Appleton
Barron – Kupari – Iafallo
Morrissey – DeMelo
Samberg – Pionk
Stanley – Miller
Hellebuyck
Comrie
Redirecting a center pass by Vladislav Namestnikov over Jake Oettinger, Alex Iafallo gave Winnipeg a 1-0 lead at 12:32 of the first period with his fourth goal of the season after the Jets’ first attempt to score had been cleared. Rasmus Kupari made it a 2-0 lead not long after Iafallo’s goal at 9:39, following a turnover by Mathew Dumba, when Kupari stuffed in a rebound of Iafallo’s shot at the side of the net.
Vladislav Namestnikov pushed it to a 3-0 lead when the puck was taken out of Winnipeg’s zone, Nikolaj Ehlers got the puck and sent it to Neal Pionk, who one-timed the pass, and Namestnikov went on to attempt a wraparound that had been stopped, then he jammed the puck in after the attempt at 16:26 of the middle frame. With 12:46 on the clock, Ehlers made it 4-0 on a power play on a one-timer. Jake Oettinger had been pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots.
Late in the third period with 1:22 remaining, Roope Hintz put an end to Connor Hellebuyck’s shutout streak when he scored the one and only goal for Dallas with his fifth goal of the season for a 4-1 final.
Alex Iafallo on the wins, the team, power plays, and bouncing back: “It’s a lot of fun winning stretches like that. It’s what you play for. We’re having fun doing it, just joking around, but when it’s game time, we’re ready to rock. It’s a fun team right now,” – “We’re just prepared and ready to make the next play on the power play, feeding off each other and making quick plays like that gives everything momentum. So, we just got to keep doing that – Sometimes, obviously, it’s not going to go your way, and I think everyone has done a great job with staying on top of that, individually and team-wise. We are always trying to pick each other up and that goes a long way, helping your teammates out when something happens.”
Wyatt Johnston on the loss, the Jets, and the game overall: “They definitely came out hard – We can match that, we have all the confidence in this group, we just need to be better starting like that, more ready to play… They started off strong, but that’s on us, we got to start strong,” – “It was a big challenge coming up against the team leading the league. It was a big game for us. We obviously didn’t come out and play the way we wanted to, and you can definitely learn from experiences like this and just take things from it.”
Notes:
– Both Alex Iafallo and Vladislav Namestnikov scored a goal and an assist.
– Connor Hellebuyck made a total of 32 saves for Winnipeg… He sets the franchise record with a shutout streak 191:47.
– Jake Oettinger allowed four on 15 shots before he had been pulled in the second period… Casey DeSmith made 10 saves in relief.
– This is the third loss for the Stars in four games.
