 celebrates his goal against Chicago Blackhawks’ goaltender Arvid Soberblom (40) during the second period of NHL action in Winnipeg, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS:Fred Greenslade.jpg)
Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 30 shots he faced as the Winnipeg Jets blanked the Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Defenceman Josh Morrissey and forward Pierre-Luc Dubois each had a power-play goal and an assist as Winnipeg (7-3-1) improved to 5-0-1 in its last six games.
Jets defenceman Nate Schmidt also scored on the power play while forward Adam Lowry had his second short-handed goal of the season.
Arvid Soderblom started in net for Chicago (5-5-2), making 21 saves on 24 shots before being replaced by Dylan Wells to start the third period.
Wells turned aside 12 of 13 shots in his NHL debut.
After a scoreless first period, Hellebuyck and Soderblom duelled to start the second.
Hellebuyck stopped Chicago forward Patrick Kane, who was in alone and shortly after had to stop Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson, who had pounced on his own rebound in front of an open net.
Soderblom simply robbed Winnipeg forward David Gustafsson, who attempted to convert a rebound of a Sam Gagner shot from the side of the net.
Morrisey broke the scoreless tie at the game's midway point. With Chicago forward Jujhar Kharia off for interference, Morrissey’s slap shot from the point beat a screened Soderblom.
It was Morrissey’s first goal of the season with Mark Scheifele and Dubois earning assists.
Lowry gave the Jets a 2-0 lead with a short-handed goal at the 13:33 mark when he beat a Chicago defenceman to the puck outside the blue line, raced down the ice and blasted a shot over Soderblom’s right shoulder. Defenceman Dylan DeMelo was awarded an assist with Gagner in the penalty box.
Dubois added to that lead just over four minutes later, beating Soderblom with a wrist shot off of a smart pass from Kyle Connor.
Winnipeg made it 4-0 with its third power-play goal of the game early in the third period. With Chicago killing a too-many-men on the ice penalty, Schmidt took a perfect pass from forward Cole Perfetti and smoked a shot past Wells. Perfetti got the lone assist.
LINEUP CHANGES — Veteran defenceman Kyle Capobianco, an off-season free-agent pickup, played his first game for the Jets. He replaced defenceman Dylan Samberg in the lineup … Forward Jansen Harkins, who was recently recalled from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, also replaced forward Dominic Toninato … Hawks were forced to promote Arvid Soderblom to their No. 1 netminder after injuries to Alex Stalock and Peter Mrazek … Jets forward Blake Wheeler was one goal short of 300 for his career heading into the game … Chicago forward Jonathan Toews had a seven-game points streak snapped, the third-longest of his career. The Winnipegger’s seven goals lead the team and was ninth in the NHL heading into Saturday’s games.
UP NEXT — Winnipeg will host the Dallas Stars in the last of game of its three-game homestand on Tuesday. Chicago will play the Kings in Los Angeles in the second of a three-game road trip on Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2022.