After breaking a four-game losing streak with a 3-0 shutout over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks rolled into Winnipeg to face the league-leading Jets, who were coming off a 3-0 shutout of their own against the Colorado Avalanche. With both teams riding shutout streaks, it was bound to be a low-scoring game. However, that’s not what happened – at least for one team anyway – as Kyle Connor led the Jets to a 6-1 victory powered by his first-period natural hat trick.
Thanks to Connor’s heroics, the Jets are now alone at the top of the league with a 30-12-3 record. The Canucks, meanwhile, fall to 19-14-10 and remain at 48 points, still one point back of the Calgary Flames for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Game Recap
Only 6:59 into the game, it was the Jets breaking the Canucks’ shutout streak. Kevin Lankinen made sure of that with his giveaway behind the net, leading to Connor’s first goal of the night, the easiest of his three as he wristed a Gabe Vilardi pass into an empty net. His second was a bit tougher at 13:01, picking up a rebound off Neal Pionk’s wrist shot and pulling it around Lankinen for his 25th of the season. Then, to cap off the sixth hat trick of his career, Vilardi sprung him on a breakaway where he deked Lankinen out of his pads for his team-leading 26th. Vilardi assisted on all three of Connor’s goals as the duo powered the Jets to a 3-0 lead in only 6:38 of game time.
A NATURAL HAT TRICK IN THE FIRST PERIOD! 🔥
— NHL (@NHL) January 15, 2025
What a start for Kyle Connor!
Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/bdltZo7RlR
The Jets’ onslaught continued 39 seconds into the second with Pionk adding a goal to the assist he got in the first. Taking a pass from Cole Perfetti at the point, he one-timed his sixth of the season past Lankinen to increase the Jets’ lead to four. The score remained that way until 15:06 when Nino Niederreiter added another, his 12th, banking the puck off Lankinen from behind the net to give the Jets a commanding 5-0 lead heading into the final frame. They also dominated the shot clock in the period, outshooting the Canucks 20-10 for a 28-16 edge in the game.
Just like the beginning of the second, the Jets flew out of the gates almost immediately in the third with their sixth goal of the night. Only 1:31 into the period, and on their third power play of the game, Mark Scheifele joined Connor at the top of the team leaderboard with his 26th of the season. Hellebuyck’s shutout streak was busted at 9:16 by Nils Hoglander with his first in 35 games, but that’s all the Canucks could muster as they fell to the Jets by a 6-1 final.
Hellebuyck finished with 23 saves on 24 shots, increasing his record to 26-6-2, while Lankinen had a night to forget with only 27 saves on 33 shots falling to 16-8-6.
What’s Next For the Canucks & Jets?
The Canucks will try and put this one in the trash as they head home for a quick three-game homestand that starts on Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings. The Jets, meanwhile, will continue their long stay at Canada Life Centre with the penultimate game of an eight-game homestand, also on Thursday.
