Connor, Jets defeat Canucks for 3rd straight win

WINNIPEG -- Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist, and the Winnipeg Jets came from behind to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 at Canada Life Centre on Sunday.

“I thought we took the game back over in the second and the third (periods),” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We played a lot faster, closed a lot quicker, did a lot more of what we needed to do. That was a really good third, for sure.”

Mason Appleton and Cole Perfetti also scored, and Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves for the Jets (51-19-4), who have won three straight games and four of five. Winnipeg, which has clinched a Stanley Cup Playoff berth, increased its lead atop the NHL standings to three points on the Washington Capitals and widened its lead to six points on the Dallas Stars for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference.

“[Hellebuyck] is so calm, he’s so quiet, sometimes you do forget how dominant he is to lead the League in everything he is,” Appleton said. “To have the success he is having and being the MVP odds-on favorite. That’s a generational player. He’s our backbone, he means everything to this team. We try to put our best foot in front and do what we can in front of him. But at the end of the day we know we’ve got the best goaltender in the world back there.

“He can save your bacon when you’re a little bit off. Obviously we try to make the game as easy as we can for him. But he’s a heck of a goalie and I’m glad he’s a Winnipeg Jet.”

Hellebuyck (43-10-3), the defending Vezina Trophy winner voted as the best goalie in the NHL, leads the League in wins, save percentage (.925), goals-against average (2.01) and shutouts (seven).

Pius Suter scored for the Canucks (34-27-13), who had points in three straight (2-0-1) and remained six points behind the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild for the second wild card into the playoffs from the West. Thatcher Demko made 24 saves.

“We battled hard,” Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet said. “Really proud of the guys, I thought they played hard. Came down to kind of a goal-mouth scramble. But I thought for the most part, that’s a good hockey team that has a chance to win a Cup, and I thought we went head-to-head on them really well.”

Vancouver completed its six-game road trip 2-2-2 and now will play six of its final eight regular-season games at home.

“You know the big picture, obviously,” Suter said. “But you can only focus on one at a time and just battle hard and make sure the next game we get two points out there. And then go from there. You can't really think too much at this point about all the other teams. You’ve just got to win.”

Suter made it 1-0 for the Canucks at 18:55 of the first period. Tyler Myers feathered a pass through two Jets defenders, sending Suter in alone to score from the slot.

Suter, who moved to the top line in the absence of injured forward Elias Pettersson the past four games, has eight points (two goals, six assists) during a four-game point streak.

“He’s been unbelievable,” Myers said of Suter. “He’s stepped up in a big way for us, is playing big minutes and he’s playing really good hockey for us. He’s played solid all year, but obviously he’s getting more opportunity now with some guys out. He’s been awesome.”

Connor tied it 1-1 at 9:26 of the second period, entering the zone on the rush and scoring from above the slot with a wrist shot that split the two Canucks defensemen.

“[Connor’s] goal is off a quick play from [Colin Miller] behind the net. … Quick outlet pass and then bump back to speed underneath,” Perfetti said. “[The Canucks] are a desperate team. They’re fighting for their lives. And we knew that was the kind of effort they were going to put forth. And we knew the kind of game they played. … They're obviously a really good team. And our game got better as it went along, and [we] started playing more direct and faster. And I think that's when we're playing our best, is when we're playing quick and fast.”

Appleton gave the Jets a 2-1 lead at 6:24 of the third period when he jammed in a rebound following a scramble in front after Demko stopped Nikolaj Ehlers’ spinning shot from the left face-off circle.

“You’ve got a 1-1 ballgame heading into the [third]. We kind of stuck to our keys,” Appleton said. “We knew that if we played a good hard 20 minutes, they were a little tired at the end of a road trip and hopefully we’d be able to capitalize and get the win. That’s exactly what happened.”

Perfetti then pushed it to 3-1 at 12:11, deking Canucks defenseman Derek Forbort in the left circle and scoring with a high wrist shot while falling to the ice.

“When I got around him I was like, ‘I'm going to go deke him,’” Perfetti said. “And then I felt the stick go between my legs, and I knew I was going down. So I was just like, ‘I’ve got to try and get it on net.’ And luckily, it went in.”

Appleton said, “You don’t see goals like that too often. Obviously [Perfetti] is a super-skilled player. He made a great move and the finish was just as impressive. We were all wowed and looking for him to smile there.”

NOTES: Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk had an assist to give him five points (one goal, four assists) during a five-game point streak. … Hellebuyck extended his home point streak to a Jets/Atlanta Thrashers record 13 games (12-0-1). … The Jets are 28-6-4 at home and have the second-most home victories in a season in franchise history (32 in 2017-18).