Connor Hellebuyck finally made the statement he was looking for all season.
Hellebuyck made 27 saves for his first shutout of the season and rookie Patrik Laine scored his NHL-leading 12th goal as the Winnipeg Jets beat the division-leading Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Tuesday.
“I’ve been chasing it for a while and now I got the monkey off my back,” Hellebuyck said.
The second-year player got his third NHL shutout in a pivotal win for the second-placed Jets.
“The statement was that we’ve figured it out, and now we know how to play and now we know we can play it,” he said.
Jets rookie defenseman Josh Morrissey scored his first career goal, while forwards Chris Thorburn and Nic Petan got their first scores of the season. Nikolaj Ehlers had two assists, helping Winnipeg stretch their points streak to five games.
Chicago goalie Corey Crawford was replaced by Scott Darling after letting in four goals on 22 shots. Darling made two saves.
It was the first of five games between the Central Division foes this season.
The Blackhawks had points in each of their previous 11 games. It was their first game in a season-high seven-game road trip.
Morrissey beat Crawford at 6 minutes, 26 seconds of the first period when his one-timer from the high slot went through the goalie’s legs.
“You dream of that one in the driveway, basement and the outdoor rink,” Morrissey said. “To finally be able to get that and see it go in was something special.”
Thorburn scored at 4:41 of the third period with a surprise shot. The veteran got the puck along the boards, spun around and shot at the net. The puck went high past Crawford for the 2-0 lead.
Laine scored after Dustin Byfuglien’s wraparound attempt went off a stick, and Laine got the puck and flipped it by Crawford at 8:32. Eleven seconds later, Petan scored his first of the season when his second attempt beat Crawford.
“It was a tough few minutes, just [the puck] kind of going in off everything, finding its way through,” Crawford said. “I mean, that happens in games. We’ve put together a good string of games, solid hockey. We played good tonight. They didn’t really have much. Like I said, it was a tough few minutes, but we can forget about that one for sure.”
Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice, whose side are now 6-0 when leading after two periods, said it was their best game this season.
“They’re a good team,” Maurice said of Chicago. “They changed gears on us a bit at the end of the second and we found a way to come back.”
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