ST. LOUIS (AP) Connor Hellebuyck shut down the St. Louis Blues

ST. LOUIS (AP) Connor Hellebuyck shut down the St. Louis Blues – again.Hellebuyck made 34 saves for his sixth shutout of the season and Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor each had a goal and an assist in the Winnipeg Jets‘ 4-0 victory Friday night.Hellebuyck has three shutouts in six career games against St. Louis.”They’re nice and gritty and I think we like that style of game Evgeny Svechnikov Jersey Womens ,” Hellebuyck said. ”We like to get in the mud and really work and grind teams down and I think they fit right into game role.”Nic Petan and Patrik Laine also scored to help the Jets win for the fourth time in five games.Jake Allen made 19 saves for the Blues. They are 0-4-1 in their last five.”Just too many mistakes throughout 60 minutes, including myself,” Allen said. ”You see the turnovers against a top team like that with tons of speed and they shoved it back down our throats pretty quick. We need to limits those and tonight it just kind of snowballed on us.”The Jets, with 81 points, have a solid grasp of second place in the Central Division. The Blues, with 72 points, could lose their hold of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference with a Los Angeles or Calgary win Saturday.The Jets scored twice in a 44-second span midway through the first to take control.Petan took advantage of Chris Butler’s giveaway with 9:56 left in the first period. Mark Scheifele intercepted a poor clearing attempt by Butler and found Petan. Wheeler made it 2-0 from an awkward angle against Allen, who gave up two goals on the first four shots he faced. The goal extended Wheeler’s scoring streak to seven games.”They came out strong, I thought we came out a little flat Womens Zach Parise Jersey ,” Wheeler said. ”Bucky kept us in it and they had a turnover there and it kind of got us rolling, got us on the board. We started flowing a little bit from there.”Connor made it 3-0 with a power play goal with 1:29 left in the first, chipping in a rebound off of a Wheeler shot. Connor has scored four goals in his last three games.”We turned a couple of (pucks) over early and then one of our offensive lines got in the penalty box and he (Hellebuyck) made some saves on that PK that was good and gave us time to get our legs going,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said.Laine extended his goals streak to four games, beating Allen clean from the right circle at 6:04 of the second period.”I thought we came out with good jump,” Blues forward Alexander Steen said. ”We let in a couple of goals and dug ourselves a hole. I think we were a little spread out against a solid team. They play with good foundation to their game and we got extremely spread out at times during the game.”Hellebuyck made several key saves early as the Blues had the first seven shots of the game. Hellebuyck also made tough saves on Brayden Schenn and Steen during a power play late in the second.”Yeah, you know, hats off to the guys in front of me,” Hellebuyck said. ”They’ve been blocking shots and giving me sight lines. Their details are so good. I hope we never have to talk about the other way around. Let’s keep it playing this well and I can keep telling my players that they’re playing phenomenal in front of me.”FACE IN THE CROWDAce Frehley Andrew Shaw Jersey , the lead guitarist in Kiss, was at the game.NOTES: The Blues placed D Robert Bortuzzo (left knee) on injured reserve. . Jets G Michael Hutchinson backed up Hellebuyck after missing the last six games due to a concussion. … The Blues scratched L Sammy Blais and C Oskar Sundqvist. The Jets scrstched D Tucker Poolman and G Marko Dano.UP NEXTJets: At Dallas on Saturday night.Blues: At Nashville on Sunday. VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Travis Green thinks the Vancouver Canucks can learn a thing or two from how the Washington Capitals played against them Monday night.Vancouver’s head coach said the Capitals came out fast and strong in the 5-2 win, showcasing highly skilled athletes who consistently make plays.“They don’t just go out there and just play summer hockey. They play the game the right way,” Green said. “These are valuable experiences and lessons for our players, our young players especially.”There’s a reason the Capitals are the NHL’s reigning champions, Green added.“They’re big, they’re strong, they’re skilled http://www.officialcanadiensprostore.com/authentic-adidas-antti-niemi-jersey , they win puck battles, they manage the puck. They do everything that Stanley Cup winning teams do. And they’re deep,” he said.“Man, that’s a good hockey team.”Alex Ovechkin had two goals and two assists for the Capitals (4-2-2) and John Carlson, Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie also scored.Troy Stecher and Sven Baertschi responded for the Canucks (5-4-0).Braden Holtby stopped 22-of-24 shots for the Capitals and Vancouver goalie Anders Nilsson turned away 28 of 33.Penalties played a big part in the game, with Washington netting two power-play goals and the Canucks getting one of their own.Vancouver’s second goal of the night came when the Canucks had the man advantage to start the third period.Right winger Brock Boeser fired a hard shot on Holtby seconds into the frame. The puck bounced off the goalie’s pads and on to Baertschi’s stick.Holtby didn’t have time to reset before Baertschi fired a rocket past him for his third goal of the year.The Canucks have been working on capitalizing on those kind of opportunities, said center Bo Horvat.“For us on the power play, we’ve talked about taking more shots, playing more direct and not trying to be too cute. (Boeser) made the right play Authentic Artturi Lehkonen Jersey , put it on net and (Baertschi) was right there for the rebound,” he said.But the team also took too many penalties and Washington was able to capitalize on them, Horvat added.“They were moving their feet, getting on the forecheck, taking the play to us at times,” he said.The Capitals lead the league in power-play goals, with 12 on 31 chances.Washington coach Todd Reirden said he liked the way his group played, landing hits early on and scoring just over two minutes in.“I thought we were emotionally invested right from the drop of the puck tonight and that gave us a really good advantage,” he said.Monday’s match also showed how far Ovechkin has come as a leader Carey Price Jersey , the coach said.The Capitals captain got the puck late in the third period after Vancouver had pulled Nilsson from the net. Ovechkin had an opportunity to score for the hat trick, but instead of letting a shot rip, he passed to Oshie.“To me that’s a huge thing. … He could have easily scored himself but it wasn’t even a thought,” Reirden said.“It doesn’t bother him one bit and that’s where you saw maybe a different player than maybe you saw three or four years ago that’s not focused on individual stuff.”Even Oshie questioned the move, Ovechkin said with a laugh.“(He said) ‘Why you pass me the puck?’ But he was so wide open and I try to give him pass. Save mine for next time,” said the Russian superstar, who now has eight goals in eight games this season.Monday’s game was the first in a four-game Canadian tour for the Capitals. They visit the Oilers in Edmonton on Thursday.The Canucks begin a two-game road swing in Vegas Wednesday before playing the Coyotes in Phoenix on Thursday.NOTESWashington center Nicklas Backstrom recorded his 600th career assist. … Ovechkin’s second goal of the night marked his 233rd on the power play. He is now ninth in NHL history for power-play goals. … Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson joined his teammates for morning skate Monday. The Canucks rookie has missed three games with a concussion and an update on his status is expect on Tuesday.UP NEXTCapitals: Play at Edmonton on Thursday night.Canucks: Begin a two-game swing at Vegas on Wednesday night before playing the Coyotes on Thursday.