Demko gets first NHL whitewash in win over Winnipeg

In Winnipeg, the visiting Vancouver Canucks hung a 4-0 whitewash on the Jets, on Monday night.

Thatcher Demko made 27 saves for the shutout, it was his first NHL shutout.

“I thought the guys played really solid tonight. The first two periods, I didn’t see much,” Demko said.,  “They’re a good team over there. They’re going to try and claw their way back into the game in the third, and I thought we did a good job handling that and playing the right way for a full 60 (minutes).”

Vancouver improved to 9-14-2.

“I think we just had a good mindset going in,” Vancouver’s Travis Hamonic said. “We just wanted to keep our foot on the gas a little bit and weather their storm when they came and be ready for our opportunities when we get back into their end and play our brand of hockey. I think it was an important second half to the game for us, for sure, and especially with a back-to-back seeing the same team tomorrow.”

Nate Schmidt and J.T. Miller scored 18 seconds apart in the first period for a 2-0 lead to the Canucks.

“I’ll take them, especially that first one. I was just trying to get one through,” Schmidt said. “[Miller] makes a really good tip on that second goal. That’s an elite-level play for him to come across and tip that one down. That was awesome. A really good play by him.”

Nils Hoglander scored in the 15th minute of the opening frame for a 3-0 lead.

“It was good to see our guys just get into the game early,” Schmidt said. “When things like that happen, it just kind of gives you that extra jump as the game goes on.”

Elias Pettersson added an empty-net goal with just over three minutes left in the game to ice the win.

The Jets dropped to 13-7-1.

“We didn’t get our offensive game to where it needs to get to until the third,” Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice said. “There wasn’t much for us tonight. … I don’t think we gave up a whole heck of a lot. They get up 3-0, they’re going to sit on it a bit, so they stop forcing the issue.”

Connor Hellebuyck made 15 saves in the loss.

“You’re down three, it’s tough,” the Jets’ Blake Wheeler said. “We have shown an ability to fight back from that this year. I still felt we had a chance to claw our way back into the game. It was just too big of a hurdle tonight.”