2 days Ago By Field Level Media
Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves for his league-leading fifth shutout of the season as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the visiting Nashville Predators 3-0 on Monday night. Gabriel Vilardi had two goals and defenseman Dylan DeMelo also scored for Winnipeg, which tops the NHL with 27 wins and 55 points following its fourth consecutive victory. Nikolaj Ehlers and Kyle Connor each added two assists.
Juuse Saros stopped 25 shots for Nashville, which has dropped two in a row following a 3-0-1 stretch. DeMelo opened the scoring with 2:42 left in the second period. He took a pass from Morgan Barron, fired a wrist shot from the inside part of the right circle and beat Saros high.
It was DeMelo's first goal of the season and first in 42 games dating back to April 10. Vilardi scored twice in a span of 1:02 late in the third. His five-on-three power-play goal made it 2-0 with 6:16 left when he slammed a shot in from the slot off a pass from Ehlers.
With the Jets still on a power play, Vilardi tapped in a loose puck with 5:14 remaining. Saros made his best save of the night around the six-minute mark of the third when he robbed Mark Scheifele's tip attempt after a cross-slot pass from Connor. Saros stopped Ehlers with a pad save on a partial breakaway as Ehlers split the two defensemen with a little over 10:30 left in the first.
And about a minute and a half later, Saros denied Connor from the left circle. Hellebuyck made a big save on Vinnie Hinostroza from the bottom part of the right circle on a two-on-one rush with just under five minutes remaining in the opening period. Saros made an outstanding save on Vilardi from in front on a rebound around the halfway point of the middle period.
Hellebuyck stopped the original effort and the rebound from Mark Jankowski, who charged down the slot with 7:20 remaining in the second. Saros foiled Ehlers again, this time on a backhand shot from in front, with 40 seconds left in the second period. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.
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