Stafford and Hellebuyck lead Jets to huge win

Winnipeg outwit Totonto Maple Leafs 6-1

Drew Stafford scored twice and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 shots to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 6-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

Mark Scheifele had a goal and two assists, and Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little and Anthony Peluso also scored for the Jets. Mathieu Perrault also had two assists.

Hellebuyck, playing in his second NHL game, had a strong follow-up to a 3-1 victory against Minnesota on last Friday in his debut.

Season’s first goal

Michael Grabner scored his first goal of the season for Toronto, and rookie Garret Sparks — also playing his second pro game — finished with 29 saves. He led Toronto to a 3-0 win over Edmonton in his NHL debut Monday.

The Leafs took advantage of a loose puck to score the game’s first goal. Winnipeg defenders couldn’t hang onto the puck along the boards in their own end. Daniel Winnik picked up the loose puck and sent a pass over in front of the net to Grabner, who shot it behind Hellebuyck at 2:02 of the first period.

The Jets tied it up six minutes later after Scheifele carried the puck down the ice and made a long backhand pass to a hardskating Stafford alone in front of the net. Stafford quickly sent a backhand shot over Sparks for his eighth goal of the season at 8:25. Stafford’s second goal of the game was scored from a sharp angle with about 2 1/2 minutes to go with Toronto’s Leo Komarov in the penalty box for tripping. Winnipeg was outshooting the Leafs 23-17 after a scoreless second period.

Scheifele scored his ninth goal of the season, and 100th point of his career, at 1:25 of the third period off a rebound.