In Winnipeg, the Jets were 3-for-5 on the power play on Sunday and used the specials teams to help down the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-3.
Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for the Jets win.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Kyle Connor, and Mark Scheifele were the power play strikers for Winnipeg.
“Today was just a good hockey game,” Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice said. “It had a little bit of everything in it, and there was some energy and emotion as there should be.”
Blake Wheeler recorded two assists in his 1,000th NHL game.
“It’s one of those things where there is a lot of buildup and anticipation,” Wheeler said. “You want to absorb it and enjoy it and soak in every moment, but at the same time, it’s nice to move on. It’s weird being front and center when you play a team sport, but it was a special day for my family.
“We started just a bit sluggish, but after that we were rolling, our power play was good, we got contributions from everyone. It was a good night for us.”
The Maple Leafs scored twice in five chances with the extra skater.
Winnipeg scored four times in the middle frame.
Michael Bunting, Auston Matthews, and Ondrej Kase scored for the Leafs.
“We gave ourselves a chance there, battling back in the second to get within two goals down with a period to play. But then the game itself just got out of hand,” Matthew said. “I’m proud of the way stuck up for each other tonight despite the way we played and the end result. Obviously, we’re leaving the rink with a sour taste in our mouths.”
Winnipeg improved to 12-8-4.
Andrew Copp, Evgeny Svechnikov, and Nikolj Ehlers also scored for the Jets.
“I didn’t feel at 5-3 it was (trouble), it was a 5-on-3 penalty and a goal that Hellebuyck gives up once a year,” Maurice said. “He’s not giving up another of those, it just makes him angry. I liked our third period a whole lot, I liked our zone time, I liked our puck decisions. It was sort of even. They had some pressure, but they’ve got a good team so they’re going to get in your end for two or three minutes, but I thought our third was our best period.”
The Maple Leafs were coming off a loss to the Wild in Minnesota on Saturday night.
“We played into their game and allowed them to use their transition,” Toronto’s John Tavares said. “They’re one of the best teams in the League in that area. Too many 2-on-1’s, and the opportunities we gave up, it was disappointing that we really got away from our game today. We battled to keep the door open going into the third but just weren’t able to generate enough and get the opportunities we needed.”
Toronto dropped to 17-7-2.
Joseph Woll took the loss on 35 saves for the Maple Leafs.
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