Hellebuyck, Jets shut out Blues
Connor Hellebuyck was happy to have a hand in some payback.
Less that 24 hours after Winnipeg was shut out 2-0 in St. Louis, Hellebuyck made 24 saves as the Jets ended a twogame losing skid with a 4-0 win over the Blues on Sunday.
“We kind of deserved this one because (of Saturday’s loss). I thought we were the better team,” said Hellebuyck, who sat out the loss in favour of backup Steve Mason.
“It’s very satisfying and I think it’s better for the guys in this room because now they know that they did play the right way and they continued to play the right way.”
Hellebuyck recorded his second shutout of the season and eighth of his career.
Carter Hutton had been in net for the St. Louis victory, stopping 48 Winnipeg shots. Mason made 28 saves.
It was starter Jake Allen who faced 46 shots on Sunday, turning aside 42 in the losing cause for the Blues (22-11-2).
“Too many shots against. That’s not us,” St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said. “We’re typically one of the top teams in the league for shot suppression and chance suppression. A little bit too easy to play against the last couple games.”
Patrik Laine scored his teamleading 16th goal of the season. Adam Lowry, Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey also had goals for Winnipeg (19-10-5). Morrissey added an assist and Andrew Copp and Jacob Trouba each had a pair of helpers.
The win was a boost for the Jets, who are now 2-4-1 in their last seven games.
Defenceman Alex Pietrangelo was back in action after the Blues captain missed four games with a lower-body injury. He logged just over 21 minutes of ice time.
Winnipeg’s total of 94 shots in the two weekend games was a concerning stat, he said.
“We’ve got to control the pace of the game a bit more,” Pietrangelo said. “I don’t think we really had much control. I don’t think we played in the offensive zone enough tonight to kind of tire them out.”