Jets slip through Tampa with win

In Tampa, the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves to help defeat the Lightning on Sunday, 4-3.

“He’s been making tons of great saves,” Blake Wheeler said. “He’s given us an opportunity, especially early on [in the season] we weren’t playing very well in front of him. Our game has come a long way since then.”

Steven Stamkos struck for his 400th NHL goal in the loss.

“Anytime you hit a milestone, it’s always good to do it in your home barn in front of your fans,” Stamkos said. “I’m sure this will be one of those moments you reflect on after the fact. But in saying that, it’s still pretty surreal.

“You never envision scoring that many goals in the NHL, and hopefully a lot more still to come. [It] would have been nicer in a win, but [it’s] nice to get it out of the way too and just focus on the next game.”

Victor Hedman and Anthony Cirelli also scored for the Bolts.

Jack Roslovic, Nikolaj Ehlers, Mathieu Perreault, and Kyle Connor scored for the Jets.

The Roslovic goal was challenged by the Bolts, but was held up on video review; the marker made it 2-1 Jets.

“We wouldn’t challenge that unless we were 100 percent that it was a high stick,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. “Apparently you have to be 110 percent. We don’t challenge just by chance. Everybody thought that was a high stick. They didn’t see it that way. No big deal.”

Ehlers replied with a goal shortly after to make it 3-1 Jets.

“That’s a tough one to swallow; you lose the challenge and then you go on the PK and give one up right away,” Hedman said. “That’s a big momentum swing in the game. But I thought it was a good match, two good teams and we just came up short.”

[WATCH: All Jets vs. Lightning highlights]

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves in the loss.

“Four hundred goals … that is a lot of goals,” Cooper said. ” Players are lucky to play 400 games in this league, and he’s got 400 goals. That means you’ve been doing it and been doing it for a long time.”

The Lightning have variously described other teams as having nothing to play for this season.  If they keep playing these types of games against contending teams in either division, they’ll be in the same position soon.