*Photo from Yahoo Sports*
Alex Iafallo scored, Connor Hellebuyck was stellar in net, and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Washington Capitals with a 3-0 shutout victory on Monday night in Winnipeg.
The Jets won for the 7th time in 10 games with the shutout, sitting two points behind the Dallas Stars for the top spot in the Central Division. Coming off a shutout loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Jets rebounded behind Hellebuyck, who reached the 30 win mark for the 5th time in his career with his latest win.
Jets head coach Rick Bowness said of the win "Give the guys credit. They weren’t very happy with our game in Vancouver. They knew they had to bounce back, and they did. It was a solid team effort tonight. That’s what it takes."
Neal Pionk started the scoring for the Jets in this one. He scored the only goal of the first period, giving Winnipeg a 1-0 lead on his 5th goal of the season, assisted by Mason Appleton and Adam Lowry. The only goal of the second period came from Iafallo, who made it 2-0 on his 9th goal of the season.
At the halfway mark of the 3rd period, the Jets made it 3 goals. Kyle Connor scored 10 minutes in, making it a 3-0 Jets lead on his 27th goal of the season. Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele picked up assists.
Capitals forward Dylan Strome said of the Jets that "They came out of the gates hot. Obviously with, I think, a frustrating game for them in Vancouver, so we expected a response. They came out flying, they were all over us. I don’t think we managed that pressure too well."
Getting the start in goal for the Jets was Hellebuyck, who improved his record to 30-14-3 in 47 starts this season. Hellebuyck recorded a 23 save shutout in the win, picking up his 4th shutout of the season in the process.
It was Charlie Lindgren manning the goal for the Capitals, taking the loss to drop to 15-11-5 in 32 starts. Lindgren turned aside 26 out of the 29 shots on goal the Jets sent his way, giving him a .897 save percentage.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said after the game that "They had the puck for 75 percent of the game. That makes it difficult to create any offense, and when we did, not nearly a good enough job getting to the interior. Zero traffic on Hellebuyck, so anything that we did generate scoring chance-wise he saw it clear. Obviously, everybody knows if he sees a shot he’s going to stop it, so it’s not a recipe for success against this team."
Both teams get back in action on Wednesday night. The Jets host the Nashville Predators as Hellebuyck gets set to start. Lindgren is the projected starter for the Capitals as they take on the Edmonton Oilers.
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