The Winnipeg Jets are keeping things rolling through another week of National Hockey League action. With two big wins against the Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars, the team currently sees their record sit at an impressive 17-10-1 mark to this point of the season.
The Jets have finally got their goals-for on the year above their goals-against for the first time in a while – currently sitting with 82 for and 77 against. They are 7-3 in their last 10 games with five of those wins coming on the road in tough environments.
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Over the three games during this week’s span, the Jets beat the Ducks 3-0 with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck picking up his second shutout of the season. They lost a tough 2-1 battle to the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 30 and finished things off on Tuesday against the Stars on home ice.
The Jets absolutely dominated the Stars from start to finish in that one, on their way to earning a 5-1 win. It was an impressive 60-minute performance from the club and only one of the few times they have been able to get that kind of output this season.
It was another tough week of selections and I would like to give honourable mentions to Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine who have also been hot as of late. Let’s get started with this week’s edition of “Jets’ 3 Stars of the Week”.
3rd Star: Kyle Connor
Kyle Connor has been on fire since joining Scheifele and Laine on the first line in place of Nikolaj Ehlers. He scored two goals and added two assists over the last three games this week and he is now up to 11 points in his last nine games played dating back to Nov. 14.
Connor scored the game-winning goal against the Stars on Tuesday and racked up three points in that contest, earning himself third star of the game honours. He was flying all over the ice making plays and he seems to be gelling nicely on that top line that has an abundance of talent.
2nd Star: Connor Hellebuyck
Hellebuyck keeps chugging along doing his thing night in and night out. As I mentioned earlier, he grabbed his second shutout of the season against the Ducks on Nov. 29 after stopping all 24 shots he faced.
Hellebuyck got the night off in Los Angeles as backup Laurent Brossoit came in to face the Kings on Nov. 30. Hellebuyck returned to the crease for the Jets’ tilt against the Stars on Tuesday and he came up big again. He stopped 27 of 28 shots in the 5-1 win with the lone goal against coming on a breakaway snipe by Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
Check out the THW’s Goalie Page for everything between the pipes!
He could easily be the first star of the week once again but due to him only playing two of the three games this week thanks to the back-to-back set last Friday and Saturday I am going with the second star for him.
1st Star: Nikolaj Ehlers
Ehlers seems to be producing no matter where he is at in the lineup this season. The 23-year-old is now seeing time on the second line with Blake Wheeler and Jack Roslovic and he still keeps putting up big numbers.
Ehlers has put up two goals and two assists over the last three games this week but that is not the most impressive part. He managed to score once while adding an assist in Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the Stars while playing a season-low 12:24 of ice time.
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In Ehlers’ last nine games, he has put up six goals and he currently leads the team with 13 on the season thus far. His speed and smooth zone entries continue to be unmatched and it is always a pleasure watching the young Dane play – he has earned this week’s first star honours.
Season Totals
We are going to be keeping a tally on who earns player of the week throughout the 2019-20 season – first star gets you three points, second star gets you two points, and third star gets you one point. Here is our current total thus far with Hellebuyck still leading the way and Ehlers not far behind him.
- Connor Hellebuyck: 18 points
- Nikolaj Ehlers: 13 points
- Patrik Laine: 5 points
- Andrew Copp: 4 points
- Mark Scheifele: 3 points
- Kyle Connor: 3 points
- Bryan Little: 2 points
- Jack Roslovic: 2 points
- Mathieu Perreault: 1 point
- Ville Heinola: 1 point
- Josh Morrissey: 1 point
- Adam Lowry: 1 point