Winnipeg loses more lift in loss to Canucks

In Winnipeg, J.T. Miller hit for  a hat trick and the Vancouver Canucks downs the Jets, 5-1 on Thursday night.

“The puck just kind of followed me around today and I got lucky a couple went in,” Miller said.

Spencer Martin made 33 saves in the Canucks win, his first win in the NHL.

“It’s incredibly special, and just even to get an opportunity to play and having it go well and get a win, I don’t know if it’s sunk in yet,” Martin said. “Hopefully we just keep building off it. It’s a really special day for me.”

The Canucks improved to 19-19-5.

“I think that’s three outstanding games [Martin] has played for us in a row,” Vancouver head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I can’t be happier. He kept us in there and he got points in every game for us. I think it’s the makings of a really good goalie.”

Andrew Copp was the lone goal scorer for the Jets.

“We’re going to have to continue to work,” Winnipeg head coach Dave Lowry said. “We’ve got a group here where we know how to win. We’re not the first team that has faced this kind of situation. We just will continue to work, we’ll work for our bounces, we’ll work for our breaks, and win a hockey game”

Brock Boeser added a single marker for the Canucks.

“I thought we did a really good job just controlling scoring chances,” Martin said. “I felt like they had a lot of shots from the point, and when I did make the save, the pucks were lying around and we boxed out really well. It felt like a really controlled environment and we played an awesome game.”

The Jets fell to 17-16-7.

Elias Pettersson scored with six minutes left in the third period for the 5-1 final score.

“We have a lot of guys that step up and our best players are different players on a nightly basis, which is a great thing to have,” Miller said. “But at the same time, we need to take it game by game and play like we did a little bit today.”

Connor Hellebuyck made 28 saves in the Jets loss.

“(We) just need to be a little bit better everywhere,” Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler said. “Those little things are adding up right now. We’re just a little bit late to everything right now and it’s hurting us.”