The Winnipeg Jets (38-14-3) continued their winning ways, beating the New York Islanders (25-21-7) 4-3 at Canada Life Centre on Friday night for their eighth straight victory. Gabriel Vilardi had two goals, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor had two assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves in the win.
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Kyle Palmieri, Simon Holmstrom, and Marc Gatcomb each scored for the Islanders, and Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves.
Game Recap
It took a little more than a minute for the Islanders to put pressure on the home team, as Holmstrom got on the board at 1:05 of the first period. Alex Iafallo tied the game at 4:27, rushing down the right wing, beating the defender, going backhand-forehand and sniping the puck in the top right corner of the net.
Gatcomb put the Islanders back up at 12:07 as Winnipeg’s Mason Appleton’s pass deflected off of Neal Pionk’s skate and right to Gatcomb.
Vilardi scored his first of two on the night at 4:23 of the second period, taking advantage of an end-to-end rush by Connor. Nikolaj Ehlers gave the Jets the 3-2 lead thanks to a backhand pass behind the net from Cole Perfetti, finding Ehlers all alone in front.
Vilardi scored his second of the game, 24th of the season, at 18:18, giving the Jets the 4-2 lead heading into the final 20 minutes.
Palmieri’s 15th of the season would make it 4-3 Jets at 11:07 of the third period, but it would be too little too late as Hellebuyck made a plethora of key saves in the final minutes, 18 in the period, to secure the win for the Jets.
The Islanders outshot the Jets 35-27 and went 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Jets went 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
Up Next
The Islanders are back in action on Saturday night as they head to Minnesota to take on the Wild. The Jets are back in action after the 4 Nations Face-Off, taking on the Blues on Feb. 22 in St. Louis.
