Judy Owen, The Canadian Press

Kyle Connor liked the way a new Winnipeg Jets top line was clicking on Sunday.

Connor had a hat trick while being teamed up with centre Pierre-Luc Dubois and Nikolaj Ehlers in Winnipeg’s 7-4 victory over the Vancouver Canucks that stretched their NHL win streak to five games.

Dubois contributed four assists and Ehlers recorded a goal and two assists in his second game back after missing 36 contests because of sports hernia surgery.

Head coach Rick Bowness aimed his praise at the Winnipeg Jets’ special teams in Friday night’s 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Jets went 2-for-6 on the power play _ scoring both goals during five-on-three advantages _ and killed off all four of Tampa Bay’s chances with the man advantage in the win.

“The special teams were obviously outstanding,” Bowness said. “(Associate coach) Scotty Arniel has done a fantastic job with the penalty kill. They won the game for us tonight because that’s a great power play.

Sam Gagner showed he can make a heads-up move while playing in his 1,002 NHL career game.

The veteran forward tipped in a point shot from Ville Heinola with 5:40 left in the third period to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

“Just was able to get my backhand on it,” the 33-year-old Gagner said. “It was a great shot by Ville. He kept it low and allowed me to see it the whole way. It’s definitely a good feeling.”

The Minnesota Wild showed coach Dean Evason they were refreshed after the holiday break.

Jared Spurgeon, Mats Zuccarello and Frederick Gaudreau each had a goal and assist in the Wild’s 4-1 victory Tuesday that handed the Winnipeg Jets their first three-game losing streak of the season.

“Almost a perfect game, for coming off a break,” Evason said. “We simplified. We didn’t make anything complicated tonight. So it was not necessarily the game plan, but the execution was fantastic.”

Rick Bowness continues to be impressed with the hockey smarts Winnipeg Jets' defenceman Josh Morrissey is displaying this season.

Morrissey had a goal and assist, and Kyle Connor scored twice and added one helper, as the Jets downed the Ottawa Senators 5-1 on Tuesday.

Connor and Morrissey both extended their point streaks to 10 games. Morrissey also reached a career-high for points with 38.

“He has elite hockey IQ, that’s what he has,” Bowness said of Morrissey. “Elite players are one step ahead, that’s what they see.”

Jonathan Marchessault was happy to take advantage of the Winnipeg Jets.

The Vegas Golden Knights forward scored his second power-play goal late in the third period to break a tie and help lift his team to a 6-5 victory over the Jets on Tuesday. 

“I thought our power play looked good in the third, and sometimes you need the power play to win games and tonight it did,” Marchessault said. 

Vegas went 2-for-3 with the man advantage Tuesday while Winnipeg was 1-for-2.

Charlie Lindgren really appreciated it when the Washington Capitals mounted a four-goal lead in Sunday’s second period against the Winnipeg Jets.

The netminder showed his thanks by foiling Winnipeg’s comeback attempt for a 5-2 Washington victory.

“To score four goals, as a goalie you love it,” Lindgren said. “It’s just a credit to our guys again for competing tonight, working hard, putting the puck in the net.

“Winnipeg obviously pushed back towards the end of the second. They pushed in the third, we hung tough, so good win for us.”

Rick Bowness may have liked the final score, but the coach wasn't happy with the way the Winnipeg Jets started their 5-2 comeback victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

“It's just not right to start a game like that,” said Bowness, whose team was outshot 18-7 in the first period and was down 2-0 early in the second.

Patrik Laine had an inkling he might have a good game in his return from an ankle injury. He was right.

Laine scored twice and Johnny Gaudreau contributed a trio of assists as the Columbus Blue Jackets upset the Winnipeg Jets 4-1 on Friday.

"I can kind of feel it during the morning skate if I'm feeling good or not and I felt like I was going pretty good this morning," Laine said. "So I had good thought(s) for tonight and I feel like right off the start our line was playing good hockey."

Mike Morreale got a pick-me-up with Wednesday’s unveiling of the Winnipeg Sea Bears, the newest team in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

The league co-founder and commissioner attended the announcement at Canada Life Centre, the home of the NHL Winnipeg Jets that will be a re-configured 4,500-seat venue for the Sea Bears.

Winnipeg is the 10th franchise for the league that has teams in six provinces. It was founded in 2018 with six clubs and began play the following year.