Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-blank-senators-5-0- 461736143.html?k=reVCLe Flying higher and higher Jets make mincemeat out of Senators, match Lightning for NHL points lead By: Mike McIntyre They’re like sharks in the water these days. And when the Winnipeg Jets smell blood, their killer instinct takes over. Such was the case again Sunday night at Bell MTS Place, as the Ottawa Senators turned into easy prey thanks to several self-inflicted wounds. Winnipeg struck early and often, including three times on the power play, to cruise to a 5-0 victory that actually wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates. "Maybe one of the most dominating performances I’ve been part of in this league, to be honest. From the first minute, we took over the game," said forward Mathieu Perreault. The new-look top line, which saw Perreault take the spot of injured Kyle Connor, led the way. Captain Blake Wheeler had a goal and three assists, Perreault scored and added two helpers, and Mark Scheifele had a goal and assist as the Jets improved to 17-6-4, including 9-0-1 in their past 10 home games. Winnipeg leads the Western Conference and is tied with Tampa Bay for most points in the NHL. Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 21 shots he faced for his first shutout of the year. Winnipeg fired 49 shots, their most in any game this season and just one short of their single-game franchise record, on Ottawa’s net. "It’s incredible the way we’re clicking right now and the confidence in this room. It’s fun to watch," said Hellebuyck, who improved his record to 15-2-3. "This is more of a team shutout. When the guys are playing as good as they are in front of me, it makes my life a lot easier. When one guy is feeling it, you can see it go through the locker room. That’s what we have in here now. Whenever somebody might fall off it, everyone else picks him up." The struggling Senators, who came into the game with just one win in their past eight contests, didn’t help their cause A too many men on the ice penalty gave the Jets an early power play, and they needed just 14 seconds to capitalize. Dustin Byfuglien made a nice play at the blue line to keep the puck in and fed Wheeler along the right wall, who fed a perfect cross-seam pass to a wide-open Scheifele. He beat Ottawa goalie Mike Condon for his team-leading 14th of the year just 2:20 into the game, Ottawa came close to tying it as Winnipeg native Mark Stone hit the crossbar. But just seconds later, Perreault tipped home a Jacob Trouba point shot to make it 2-0 at the six-minute mark. Winnipeg continued to swarm, holding Ottawa without a shot for more than 13 straight minutes in the opening frame. Bryan Little looked to have made it 3-0, but Condon gloved away a certain goal with one of the nicest saves of the season. The Jets outshot Ottawa 19-3 through 20 minutes. Winnipeg didn’t sit on the lead, coming out strong to begin the middle frame. Scheifele somehow found Wheeler with a great pass from behind the Ottawa net, and the captain buried it to make it 3-0 just over three minutes into the period. Then Ottawa imploded, taking away any chance they might have had for a comeback. Dion Phaneuf took an undisciplined cross-checking penalty, and just 21 seconds later Ottawa’s bench was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct for screaming at the officials. Winnipeg, given an extended five-on-three, scored twice in thirty seconds to put the game away. First, Patrik Laine buried a shot from his usual spot on the left side of the slot. It was his 13th of the year, and his 49th career goal in what was his 100th career game. Then Tyler Myers — skating in his 500th game — made it 5-0 when his blast from the point got through a crowd. That chased Condon from the crease. He’d surrendered five goals on 22 shots, including three on the only three shots he faced in the second. Craig Anderson took over in net. "We were pretty solid right through. I thought it was a real powerful, long start. There was a good 25 or 30 minutes there, and then the game changes. It’s not the same kind of game," coach Paul Maurice said of what he believes was one of their most complete efforts of the season. "At 5-0 the bench is coaching itself, they’re talking to each other about what they want to get done. They really didn’t change much. They stayed on it," said Maurice. "It was a good win. We’ll absolutely leave this one here. That wasn’t Ottawa’s best game. I’ve watched them play now. They’re capable of some better hockey. So it was just a 60-minute, two pointer. We’ll forget this one as fast as we played it." Winnipeg entered the game fourth in the NHL on the power play, and second-best at home. Giving them ample opportunities, as the Senators, is not an ideal plan for success. "It’s huge. The power play is definitely something that’s been awesome for us," said Scheifele, who now sits in a tie for fifth-overall in NHL scoring, one point behind teammate Wheeler. "We just got to keep it going and continue to learn. There’s still things we can fix and still things we can work on. I think we need to keep that mentality to not be complacent. We need to continue to work on things and continue to get better because we know every team is doing that as well." The Jets may want to lobby the NHL to play more Sunday evening games at home. Their only previous date this season saw them race out to an early 5-0 lead over Pittsburgh on Oct. 29 on their way to a 7-1 rout. Last night’s game followed a similar pattern. Winnipeg now hits the road for a three-game trip starting Tuesday in Detroit. The Red Wings are licking their wounds following a 10-1 defeat on Saturday night against Montreal. The Jets then head to Florida for games against the Panthers and league-leading Lightning before returning home next Monday against Vancouver. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/with-perreault-connors-absence-not-a- problem-for-jets-461751023.html Perreault steps up after Connor goes down By: Mike McIntyre It’s an in-house fix most teams can only dream of. Kyle Connor, a key part of the Winnipeg Jets top line who’s been red-hot of late, was unable to answer the bell on Sunday after suffering a lower-body injury while blocking a shot in the previous game. For most squads, this might pose a bit of a problem. But not these Jets, who simply moved veteran forward Mathieu Perreault off the so-called fourth-line and into Connor’s spot to play alongside Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele. The trio combined for nine points in Sunday’s 5-0 laugher over Ottawa. "What a luxury that is, to have that kind of depth. It’s a bummer to miss KC (Connor) — he has played so well and his confidence is so high. We grab a guy like Matty Perreault seemingly out of nowhere and not miss a beat," Wheeler said. "He plays so hard. It seems like when he’s out there, no matter what line he’s on, there are so many loose pucks. "What a blessing to be able to slot him in when you’re missing a guy." Perreault has plenty of past experience with Wheeler and Scheifele, who now sit fourth and fifth overall, respectively, in NHL scoring. "That was nice, to play with (Wheeler and Scheifele), two of the best players in the league right now. It’s fun. From the first minute to the last, we took control of that game. It was just an awesome game for us," Perreault said. His spot on a line with Matt Hendricks and Joel Armia was filled by Shawn Matthias, who had been a healthy scratch for nine straight games. Connor is listed as day-to-day. "It’s a little different, whoever you play with. But for me, my game doesn’t change a whole lot. I work as hard as I can. I try to finish checks, create loose pucks, and when I see an opportunity to make plays, I try to make them," Perreault said. Scheifele said Perreault simply picked up where Connor left off, specifically making life miserable for opponents while tracking down pucks. "I think that’s the sign of a team that has some depth. You have one guy go down that’s been huge for us in (Connor), and (Perreault) comes in and does a great job," Scheifele said. MASON NEARING RETURN Goalie Steve Mason is nearing a return to the crease after suffering a concussion Nov. 25 in San Jose. "He’s feeling really good. He’s going to do the test here in the next day or so. He went hard (Sunday) for an extended period on the ice. No shots, but positioning, things like that. So he’s moving along quite quickly," head coach Paul Maurice said following Sunday’s game.