Stringing together wins hasn’t been easy for the Winnipeg Jets in 2025, but you wouldn’t know it seeing how they shredded the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night.
Kyle Connor netted a natural hat-trick in the first period as the Jets blasted the Canucks 6-1, the first time Winnipeg secured two wins in a row since a four-game win streak in late December.
The Jets got on the board just under seven minutes into the game thanks to a blunder by Vancouver goalie Kevin Lankinen.
After Winnipeg dumped the puck into the Vancouver end, Lankinen wandered behind his net to retrieve it but under some pressure from he tried to steer it to the corner. Unfortunately for the Canucks, Gabriel Vilardi was waiting in the corner to pick it off and send the puck in front to a wide open Connor for his 24th of the season.
He was just getting started.
Later in the first, Connor caught a hard clearing attempt from Dylan Samberg with his hand at the Winnipeg blue line, dropped it and sent it over to Vilardi streaking up the ice. He crossed the Vancouver blue line and dropped it off to Neal Pionk who fired a shot on net. Lankinen stopped it but the rebound eluded the Canucks in front of the goal as Connor found it, put a deke on Lankinen and tucked it in for his second of the night at the 13:01 mark.
36 seconds later, the hats came pouring.
Still on the ice after the second goal, the Jets’ top line transitioned the puck out of their own end and as they did so, Connor snuck behind the Canucks’ defenders as Vilardi hit him with a breakaway pass. Connor then put a nasty move on Lankinen before depositing his third of the night, completing his sixth career hat trick.
It was also the third time in franchise history that a player had scored three goals in the first period and in doing so in 13:36, Connor scored the second-quickest hat-trick from the opening puck drop in franchise history (Sean Monahan scored three goals in the first 11:24 Feb. 19, 2024).
Vilardi’s three assists in the period brought his season point total to 41, matching his career-high that he set in 63 games with the Kings in 2022-23.
Shots after one period were 8-6 in Winnipeg’s favour and less than a minute into the second, shot nine made it 4-0.
Quinn Hughes was late getting to a dump-in behind his net as it rolled past him and into the near corner where Cole Perfetti collected it. He sent the puck back to the point where Pionk one-timed it and beat Lankinen clean 39 seconds into the period.
Winnipeg had two power play opportunities in the period to try and add to their lead or to get Connor another goal but they were not able to convert.
No matter, they would just score at even strength for the fifth time when Nino Niederreiter got in on the fun at the 15:06 mark. Niederreiter carried the puck into the Vancouver end before dropping it off to Rasmus Kupari, who then sent it toward the net. The Swiss winger caught a piece of it before Lankinen stopped it but Niederreiter then banked the rebound in off the back of Lankinen to make it 5-0.
Perfetti picked up his second assist of the night on the Niederreiter goal, giving him 100 career NHL points.
Winnipeg managed to get a whopping 20 shots on goal in the second to hold a 28-16 edge in shots through 40 minutes.
Early in the third, the Jets earned their third power play of the night and this time they made quick work of it.
Just nine seconds after Tyler Myers was called for hooking, Connor sent the puck down low to Nikolaj Ehlers who quickly got it in front to Scheifele. He made no mistake for his 26th of the season to make it 6-0.
Vancouver finally got on the board just over nine minutes into the period when Logan Stanley misplayed the puck just outside the Winnipeg end, allowing Nils Hoglander to pick it up and start a 2-on-1. He carried the puck in and ripped a shot high over Connor Hellebuyck’s shoulder to make it 6-1.
Hellebuyck finished with 23 saves to secure his 27th win of the season.
Winnipeg will look to make it three straight wins when they continue their lengthy homestand Thursday against Seattle.