Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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Winnipeg forward Jack Roslovic scored two goals and an assist to lead the Jets to a 5-2 victory over the reigning Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues at Bell MTS Place on Saturday night.
The Jets snapped a five-game losing streak and are now 12-12-2 at home this season.
Connor Hellebuyck was outstanding in net for the Jets (26-23-4). The NHL all-star goalie stopped 38 shots, while Jordan Binnington made 28 saves for the Central Division-leading Blues (31-14-8).
After the Blues pulled to within 3-2 with 4:10 left, Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler salted the game away with an empty-net goal with 1:31 left. Patrik Laine added another empty-netter with 21 seconds remaining.
Ryan O’Reilly had scored with 4:10 left in the game to get the Blues within a goal, when he beat Hellebuyck off a feed from Zach Sanford.
Brayden Schenn had broken Hellebuyck’s bid for a league-leading fifth shutout when he blasted a perfect feed from Jaden Schwartz at 13:20 of the third period.
The Jets took a 3-0 lead into the final frame. Forward Jack Roslovic scored his second goal of the game when he put away a Dmitry Kulikov rebound with 2:55 remaining in the frame. Roslovic then sent Andrew Copp towards the net with a backhand pass and the Winnipeg centre beat Binnington with just 15 seconds left in the period. Sami Niku, who had assisted on the first goal, recorded his second helper of the night.
Winnipeg led 1-0 after the first 20 minutes. Roslovic snapped a shot past Binnington on the stick side late following a nifty feed from Niku.
Both goalies were sharp in the first period with Binnington stopping Scheifele from in close, while Hellebuyck was forced to stop several dangerous shots, especially early in the first.
The Jets will play host to the Nashville Predators in the final match of a three-game homestead on Tuesday, before heading to St. Louis to face the Blues on Thursday.
NOTES – Blues forward Alexander Steen – the son of legendary Jets centre Thomas Steen – celebrated his 1,000th NHL game Saturday night. Fans gave Alex a standing ovation during a short video tribute during a break in the action in the first period. Thomas Steen will be officially inducted into the Jets Hall of Fame during a game in Winnipeg on Feb. 11 … Winnipeg forward Mathieu Perreault, who was forced out of Friday’s game with an undisclosed injury, did not suit up against the Blues. He was replaced in the lineup by Logan Shaw, a recent callup from the Manitoba Moose.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2020.
Jim Bender, The Canadian Press
