Iafallo’s Pair of Goals Power Jets to 4-0 Shutout Over Devils

The Winnipeg Jets shut out the New Jersey Devils 4-0 at Canada Life Centre Friday evening.

Alex Iafallo scored two goals, while David Gustafsson and Mark Scheifele also lit the lamp.

The Jets improved to 50-19-4 with the victory to leap back into first in the entire NHL and become the first team to reach 50 wins this season. The Devils fell to 38-29-7 but continue to sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Game Recap

The Jets got off to a scorching start by scoring twice within the first two minutes. First, Iafallo spun a backhander in past a sprawling Jake Allen to finish off a nice three-way passing play 58 seconds into the proceedings.

48 seconds later, the Jets’ fourth line doubled the lead when Gustafsson banged home a puck Morgan Barron managed to muscle out of a crowd in front.

The Devils appeared to cut the lead in half with five-and-a-half minutes left in the first when Erik Haula whacked a puck in from within the crease, but the referees immediately waved it off due Haula interfering with Connor Hellebuyck. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe elected not to challenge.

The Jets scored two more goals in the final five minutes of the second to double their lead to 4-0 through two. First, on their first power-play opportunity of the game, Iafallo bagged his second of the evening by grabbing a Nikolaj Ehlers cross-crease pass out of the air and smacking it in from in front past a diving Allen.

Then, Mark Scheifele scored off a favourable end-board bounce off a Kyle Connor shot with 42 seconds left in the frame.

The Jets locked things down in the third, clinching the 4-0 win and Hellebuyck his seventh shutout of the season.

Notes & Observations

With his assist on Iafallo’s game-opening goal, Scheifele became the Jets 2.0’s all-time points leader with 796 in 870 games. The first-ever 2.0 draft pick passed Blake Wheeler, who had 795 points in 874 games in a Jets uniform.

Seven shutouts is a new career high for Hellebuyck. He had six in two separate seasons.

Devils’ star defenseman Luke Hughes was held out for precautionary reasons. The Devils deployed a five-forward power play in his absence.

The Devils went zero for three on the power play, while the Jets went one for one.

The shots were 24-19 in favour of the Devils.

The Jets are back in action Sunday when they host the Vancouver Canucks in the final game of their four-game homestand. The Devils play next on Monday, at home versus the Minnesota Wild.