By Canadian Press

Connor Hellebuyck registers second shutout of the season as Jets blank Canadiens 5-0

Apr 10, 2021 | 7:06 PM

MONTREAL — Connor Hellebuyck’s 19-save effort earned him his second shutout of the season and gave the Winnipeg Jets a decisive 5-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. 

Andrew Copp, Nikolaj Ehlers and Mathieu Perrault each had a goal and an assist, while Paul Stastny and Derek Forbort also scored for the Jets (25-13-3) who have now won three straight.

The Canadiens (17-12-9) dropped their third game in a row. With Carey Price unavailable until next week (lower-body injury), Jake Allen made 20 saves as he dropped to 1-5-4 in his last 10 starts. 

After a first period in which both teams went long stretches without registering a shot on goal — the Jets needed more than 11 minutes to fire a puck on Allen — the game opened up in the second.

Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme said he wanted to see fewer mistakes from his men but a string of errors by Montreal led to the game’s first goal at 10:13.

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It started with a poor line change, which gave Pierre-Luc Dubois open ice at the blue line. When Dubois lost control of the puck on his breakaway, Allen charged and poked it away. But with Allen still out of his crease, defenceman Jeff Petry passed the puck right to Stastny, who snapped a six-game skid.

The visitors doubled their lead six minutes later on the power play. An offensive-zone faceoff win went to Ehlers, who fired a wrist shot over Allen’s glove into the net.

The Habs felt Perreault interfered with Allen’s glove while screening him. They challenged the call on the ice but the decision stood after a lengthy video review determined the incidental contact occurred outside the crease.

The Jets got a contribution from an unlikely goal-scorer when Forbort, from a difficult angle, made it 3-0 with 29 seconds remaining in the second period. It was the defenceman’s first goal since Feb. 2 against Calgary. 

Ducharme shuffled his lines to start the third period but it was more of the same.

Copp scored a fourth for the Jets at 7:13 from the slot after a nice passing play with Perreault and Ehlers. A bad giveaway by Shea Weber as he skated out from behind his net led to Perreault’s unassisted goal at 10:42.

Notes: Winnipeg improved to 6-2 versus Montreal this season. … Habs defenceman Otto Leskinen made his season debut, taking Victor Mete’s spot in the lineup. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2021.

The Canadian Press